


After That Night

by zipperpeople



Series: It started where all good stories should, in a Motel [2]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Eventual Smut, M/M, a bit of Akira/Yusuke, confused love, more tags will be added as they appear, new to dating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2018-12-11 12:41:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 25,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11714604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zipperpeople/pseuds/zipperpeople
Summary: After a spicy night spent together in a motel, Yusuke and Ryuji attempt to figure out if they have a future together. But someone who Yusuke looks up to ends up weaseling his way in between the two love birds.





	1. Mum Raised Me Right

**Author's Note:**

> So for anyone who is actually reading this lil note, this is a second part of a collection. Basically the first one goes over what happened 'that night'. Thank you reading this, and I hope you all enjoy this and what's to come.

God I missed this, the wind rushing so fast in my ears I can barely hear the coach yelling at the cheerleaders practicing across the field. The only real sound that I can hear is the quick beating of my own heart, reminding me that I need to slow down and at least attempt to pace myself. One more lap, I keep telling myself with each finished lap. I only stopped when I saw a tall stick-like man staring at me through the chainlink fence. I jogged over, trying to slowly bring my heartrate down, his expression changed as he noticed me making my way over to him as though he had been focused on something in the distance and hadn’t even noticed me. “Yo!” I called out almost at the fence.

“Ah, Ryuji” I couldn’t figure out if he hadn’t noticed me or was just trying to make it seem that way.

“How long have you been watching?” I asked with the hint of a shit eating grin.

“I was sitting under the trees and noticed you, thought I’d say hello considering it’s been awhile.” His voice was horribly monotone which never ceased to frustrate me, it was like he had no emotion. And after over a month of not seeing each other I would have expected at least a _smile_.

“What have you been up to?” I leaned my shoulder against the fence, trying my best to look as normal as I could but I was failing miserably.

“I’ve been rather involved with my studies, I have an art exhibit coming up so I’ve been absorbed with that.” _He had mentioned something about that that night, he had invited me, hadn’t he?_

“Right, you mentioned that before didn’t you?” I watched his cheeks flush and him move awkwardly, as though he was trying desperately to look comfortable.

“I believe I might have...after that night…” There was a cloud of discomfort and awkwardness surrounding us, so much so that I had no idea how to handle it. And it looked like he was struggling with the same thing.

“Have you talked to Akira since the trip?” I spat out, getting truly sick of the heavy silence.

“Ah, briefly but not for a couple days. He did mention wanting to come visit for my show but he wasn’t sure if he could.” Before I could think of something to say I smelled myself, wrinkling my nose I remembered that I had just been running for close to an hour and probably smelled as good as a pile of garbage in the August sun.

“I gotta’ go shower otherwise I’ll never hear the end of it from mum, but maybe we could hang out sometime, I’m pretty free lately.” He shifted awkwardly for a moment,

“I’m pretty busy with all my painting,” I rolled my eyes, “but I suppose I could spare some time to catch up with you.” He smiled for just a second before the smile infected me, forcing me to grin back at him.

“I mean, we could always meet at that park that Ann always drags everyone to, you could sketch there while we talk?” Yeah that’s right, I remember how much you like that park.

“That would be...really wonderful actually.” He sounded surprised.

“Yeah, so text me with whenever you’re free and I’ll be there.” He nodded, his grip noticeably tightening on his bag strap, and from the bit of upper chest I could see peeking out from his salmon coloured shirt he was blushing. I waved and began walking towards the track showers, the sounds of my steps echoing off the completely empty showers. I threw my bag on the bench, quickly peeling my shirt off and grimacing at the slightly damp slapping sound it made when it dropped it on the bench, I kicked off my shoes and stepped out of my shorts before stepping into the big open shower. The hot water felt so unbelievably nice on my soon to be sore muscles, I had pushed myself too hard and I’m sure my knees are going to hurt unbearably tomorrow but it’s all worth it. I ran my fingers through my hair, tugging the knots out as the rushing of the water over and in my ears filled my head.

“O-oh” I heard a startled coo coming from the shower entrance, totally not expecting what I turned to see. “I-I apologize, I didn’t realize you’d be…” Yusuke was standing behind the bench that my clothes were piled on, his hands were both gripping his bag for dear life and his eyes were diverted towards the ground.

“I said I was going to _shower_ , what did you expect!?” I spat not turning all the way around, even though I wasn’t the least bit uncomfortable.

“ _Stalls_ ”

“Yeah well, there aren’t any” I said, laughing on the inside at his flustered expression and his eyes darting everywhere but at me. It was the exact opposite of how he was that night we shared a motel room in the middle of nowhere.

“I can see that,” His voice was getting quieter by the word and it was becoming difficult to hear him over the water. I turned the tap so the water went off and the echoing room was vastly silent.

“Can you toss me my towel?” He shot his head up, looking directly at my half turned body before his face went completely red and his gaze dropped back down to my bag, his slender fingers that I knew a bit too well pulled the zipper back and reached in, grabbing my towel before throwing it towards me and almost missing completely. The towel was about to fall on the ground a step away from me, so I turned to grab it only to hear Yusuke make a sound that was a mix between a groan and a gasp it was a sound I had only heard once before and it made me grin. “Was there a reason you came in here or were you just trying to sneak a peek?” I wrapped the towel around my waist and sat on the bench behind him.

“Where are we at?” he sat next to me, dropping like a sack of potatoes.

“You mean like us?”

“I do.” He said hesitantly as I leaned back, scratching at the back of my head.

“Man, I don’t know. If you had asked me this that week I would have said something completely different then I would right now.”

“Meaning there is no us?” His voice was back to that angering monotone that made me want to crawl out of my own skin.

“ _Meaning_ once we got back you fucked off and made it clear there is no us. Made me feel like shit.”

“I didn’t know what else to do, everything felt awkward and different.”

“That’s usually what happens when two friends bang, but that doesn’t mean you cut all communications with them.” I said, forcing myself to not raise my voice. He slouched down on the bench, his hair almost tickling my shoulder.

“Ryuji, I really didn’t mean to do that I just wanted to give you space and time, I didn’t know how you were going to feel when we got back to our regular lives.” I looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

“So you solve this byyyyyyyyy not speaking to me?”

“I thought you’d be one of those too manly to be gay sort of people.” I laughed, the sound echoing off the dripping tile walls.

“Okay _ouch_ ,” he looked at me through his bangs, his eyes sad “If anyone but you had said that I would punch ‘em, but you’re too pretty to hit.” He sat up slowly, looking at me still with a sad look in his eyes.

“I never meant to make you feel bad, I just-” He sighed heavier than I’ve ever heard anyone sigh before, like his shoulders weighed a million pounds. “I didn’t know what to do and then I got so caught up in my art show that I hardly had time to think about anything else. That’s why when I saw you running I had to see you, but then I felt so weird about just bringing it up in public, but I didn’t want to leave it hanging so I had to bring it up.” For once he sounded hurt and almost panicky, his words all sort of slurring together, which for the artistic Yusuke who never spoke without coming up with the most beautiful collection of words this was very strange.

“So you decided coming to talk to me while I’m naked was the best time, you sure you didn’t just want to see me like this again?” I winked, which made him blush even more than he already was. There was a moment where I thought he was going to say something but instead I found my cheeks being grabbed and my lips pressed against his. I hesitated for a second before I felt his warmth against me and wanted nothing more than to envelop him in my arms and hold him close. I wrapped my arms around his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair, turning our one kiss into a bunch of little ones, opening my eyes for a second to see him staring at me, his eyes glittering in the aggressive white light of the shower. I was the first to pull back, looking at his small smile before I stood up, “I’m gonna get dressed before this progressives any further.”

“Like you wouldn’t want that,” he laughs, crossing his legs and leaning back on his hand making no movement to leave and give me privacy.

“Mum raised me right, I gotta’ take you out for a proper date before that.” I winked again, realizing that it got a reaction from him very quickly.

“Maybe I’ll take _you_ out.” He retorted as I started grabbing my jeans from my bag before dropping my towel and taking my sweet time getting dressed, loving the way his eyes ran up and down me.

“Yeah, that’s not happening. You’ll have to race me for the bill then, artist boy.” When I was fully dressed and all my other clothes and towel were shoved into my bursting bag he stood up, stepping closer to me so that he stood a few inches taller then me, forcing me to look up at him. He leaned down enough to press his lips to my cheek,

“It’s _so_ good to see you Ryuji.” He said with his lips close enough to my cheek that I could feel them tickle my skin when he spoke.

“You missed me.” I whispered, sticking my tongue out at him, only to have him pull back then touch his nose to mine.

“Ryuji, will you join me at the park on Thursday, as my partner?” His voice was soft and it made me just want to kiss him over and over again.

“Only if you’ll let me take you out for dinner.” He faked a groan and rolled his eyes.

“If it will give you pleasure then I’ll allow it.” I stepped back, grabbing his hand and tugging him towards the door.

“Let’s go before people assume we’re doing much weirder stuff than we actually are.” He followed me out, our hands still intertwined while we took the short walk to the subway station.

“So Thursday then?” I asked, as we stood with stairs on either of our sides where we would have to part.

“Indeed.” I looked around before pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek before we began walking our separate ways, our hands falling at the last possible second and I secretly watched him walk down the stairs until I couldn’t see him anymore, almost missing my train.


	2. Like How You Wanted to Paint Ann?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this was a lot later then I expected, some things came up that kept me away from my laptop for a few nights. Hopefully the next chapter doesn't take me nearly as long. I hope you all enjoy and give me any feedback you see fit.

“Oh hey ma, I thought you would be at work by now.” My mum looked up at me from going through the mail at the kitchen table.

“Well good morning to you too my blonde baby boy!” She beamed up at me, her thin wrinkled folds showing her age as she smiled, but her beauty was still very apparent. “You’re up earlier than usual.” I grabbed an apple off the counter before plopping down in the chair across the table from her, I took a bite into it before swallowing quickly so I didn’t get the disapproving mum look when I started to talk with half a bite still in my mouth.

“I’m meeting someone.” Quickly I could feel her brown eyes boring into me, I knew if I looked up and met her gaze she was going to know exactly what I meant by that. So I trained my focus on the cover of the newspaper that was under the pile of mail she was slowly working her way through.

“I’m _waiting_ ” Without even looking at her I could tell she was smiling at me, “Are you not going to tell me who you’re meeting? Or should I start guessing?” I scoffed, taking another bite of my apple.

“Guess away” Her nails tapped against the wooden table, keeping a perfect rhythm that was beginning to grind on my nerves, which was exactly what she wanted.

“Ann?” I shook my head, picking up the paper and idly flipping through it, not really reading anything in particular. “Is it that boy...ohhhh the one that was head of the track team, what’s his name?”

“It’s not him.” I said around my mouth full of apple.

“What about that sweet girl, Haru?”

“No ma, you get two more guess before I have to leave.” I heard her put her piece of mail down and begin to tap her slippered foot.

“What about that boy, you two were really close and then just stopped...Yusuke was it?” _Shit_. I looked up at her before getting up and walking past her to throw away my core.

“Yea, we ran into each other yesterday when I was running and we just decided to catch up a bit.” I heard her get up and by the time I turned around she was standing in front of me, she was almost a head shorter then me but pulled me close in a rib crushing hug.

“How do you feel about it?” Her voice had noticeably softened as she spoke.

“I dunno’ I’m glad that we’re talking again.” Her hand came up and began carding through my combed locks,

“Just, don’t put up your wall ‘ji, if you do, you’ll never be able to get close to people.” I pulled back and looked at her,

“I know ma, I’ll do my best.” She kissed my forehead before releasing me from her grasp so I could go put my shoes on, checking my phone in the process to see there were no new messages. “Bye ma, I’ll see you when you get home tonight!”

“Have fun with Yusuke, sweetie.” I pushed open the door and walked outside of the little gated area that our little house sat nestled between a tiny Ramen shop and a small house that a family runs a textile shop out of. I walked past the Ramen shop, the old man who runs it waves at me with a tired smile on his face. I walked into the subway station that was just at the end of my street, running like crazy when I saw my train pull in barely making it in time. Since it was summer break the train was filled to the brim with vacationing students, wearing the shortest shorts and giggling to each other, all the while looking at their phones. I was stuck standing close to the door but I didn’t mind much, the park was just three short stops away from my house. I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked at the time 12:20, _am I late? Or early? He never said a time so I just assumed we were meeting around now but I guess I should have asked._

The stop was called out and an annoyingly high ring rang through the car signalling the opening doors. I zipped out immediately and ran up the stairs before any of the bubbly girls could get in my way, now anxious that I’m late for our park meeting. As I came out of the underground the sun immediately burned down on me, the weather being much hotter than it usually is. Momentarily blinded by the sun I shielded my eyes before walking in the general direction of the park. I retraced the trail I took every time I come to this park, following a tree covered path that few ever took that lead out right by the tree I knew Yusuke liked to sit under whenever our group had spent an afternoon roaming the park. I took a second, stopping on the trail and pulling out my phone to see if I had gotten a text, which surprisingly I had.

Yusuke: Running a bit late I’ll be there in 15

Ryuji: No prob im here already under the tree :)

I tucked my phone away in my pocket and kept walking until I came out of the forested area into the open park where joggers ran through the park and happy couples walked hand in hand along the pond. I walked over to the tree I had seen him under and slumped down against the trunk of the Ginkgo tree, closing my eyes and enjoying the soft breeze.

I guess I dozed off because I woke up to a gentle nudge against my leg jolting me awake, worried that there was some park creeper getting too close. But much to my pleasure it was a startled looking Yusuke, whose eyes quickly softened and a gentle smile played across his thin lips. “I tried not to wake you, I’m sorry my bag slipped.”

“Don’t be sorry, I’m glad it’s you and now some park perv.” I sat up straighter against the tree, feeling my tailbone ache a little from my bad posture. He sat down next to me as he went through his shoulder bag before pulling out his large sketch pad and a thick pencil.

“Sorry I was late, I missed the train I was planning on catching because there was a-”

“Yusuke,” he stopped talking and looked at me with that gentle expression. “You don’t have to be sorry all the time, I have no plans I’m rushing to get to. We have the whole day.” He smiled at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling ever so slightly.

“You’re right” he leaned back against the tree and pulling his knees up so that he could rest his sketchbook on his thighs allowing him to lazily draw long and seemingly perfect lines. I couldn’t take my eyes off his paper, his hand moved so effortlessly that it looked like he was doing it without a single thought in the world.

“What are you drawing?” He didn’t even look up at me but I could see the smile crossing his lips.

“You’ll see.”

“Aw come on, tell me” He shook his head, before blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes. “That’s no fun.” He laughed softly, his lines getting more curved, and the loose image of a face was coming into view but that was all I could make out. “How much do you have left for your art show?”

“I’ve finished a total of 5 pieces, but I need to fully finish a few more. Then there’s this one,” He tapped the pencil against the pad of paper he was working on, “This is going to be a last second one, but I’m confident I can finish it in time, even if it’s just a sketch.”

“I’m sure you can, you’re dedicated to your work.” He hummed and went back to his sketch.

“You were running yesterday,” I wanted to touch him, his face looked so perfect and soft but I forced myself not to so that I wouldn’t disturb him.

“Yea, after everything that happened with the fighting shadows and stuff I figured that if I can do all that I can get back into running.”

“That’s a good way of thinking of it, you looked very content while doing it.” I hummed, not quite sure what to say to that, trying to think over where to next bring the conversation. “Very godly” I scoffed

“Godly? How do ya’ figure that?” leaned in closer, trying to mentally figure out what he was drawing. My chest was against his shoulder and then I suddenly became hyper conscious of my racing heart, which now I’m sure he could feel as well.

“There’s a certain form athletes take then engaging in whichever sport, their muscles tense and flex and often times they have a very particular expression that can only be compared with the expressions on Greek god statues.” He never once looked up from his sketch, as though he was just speaking without thinking and his total concentration was on the feather light lines he was drawing.

“You really find art wherever you are, don’t ya?” was silent for a moment before resting his pencil on the grass between us before looking up at me with the most submissive and open expression I’ve seen since that night.

“I try to, Ryuji. Art surrounds me, and all I can try to do is make sure I notice it and appreciate it as much as I can in case it’s taken away from me in an instance.” I glanced around to see who was in the immediate area, and after seeing that no one was too close to us I looked back at him before leaning in until my chapped and bitten lips met his overly soft ones. It took every ounce of restraint for me not to force my tongue into his mouth and deepen the kiss, but I knew in my gut that if I did that right this second it would be near impossible to stop after that. So unfortunately I forced myself to pull back and just look at his pink cheeks and doe eyes. “I-I had a proposition for you.” His voice was a little shaky to start but he managed to get it under control by the end of the sentence.

“Okay,” our eyes stayed trained on each other, every so often I allowed myself to look at his lips.

“How about, you buy us take-out and we head back to my dorm. We can watch a movie while I paint.” I nodded,

“That sounds great.” Even though it felt like we should move away from each other but I didn’t want to, and he certainly didn’t seem like he wanted to either.

“I must admit, I have an ulterior motive.” I squinted my eyes at him and smiled, intrigued. “I wish to sketch you,” I nodded but it seemed like he wanted to say something else. “In a more...vulnerable state.”

“Like how you wanted to paint Ann?” The question was both genuine but also to poke fun at the old memory. He smiled, his cheeks getting more and more rouge.

“You’re not...wrong.” I smiled at how shy he was being.

“Sure, anything for the art.” He beamed down at me, his hand came up to my cheek, thumbing the corner of my eye, before gently pulling me closer to kiss my cheek. Then he pulled back just so he ghosted his lips over my cheek as he spoke,

“Do you want to head out, I’m thinking Ramen.” I nodded before he pulled back and began picking up his sketchpad and pencil, shoving them in his bag and standing. “I’ve been wanting to draw you for the longest time, I’m truly excited.” His gentle voice was for once budding with excitement, as we began walking away from the tree. As we walked an anxious feeling began to churn in the pit of my stomach that I couldn’t quite figure out.

_This will be interesting._


	3. I Almost Fell Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut smut smut smut

Walking next to him felt so weird. It was something that used to be so normal, comfortable. But now it seems so unfamiliar, even though our conversation flows like it used to and there's no more weird sexual tension any time our hands brush together, it still feels like everyone is staring at us. Yusuke doesn’t seem to notice it, or if he does he doesn’t make it apparent, as i’m sure I am as I catch him shooting me slightly confused glances when he thinks i’m not looking. In one hand i’m clutching the bag of ramen while the other dangles at my side as we walk through the quiet summer streets of shibuya. “Ryuji, I must ask, are you sure you’re alright with this arrangement?” He faced straight ahead even though his voice was softer than I had expected to hear from him.

“I’m sure, I just feel like everyone is staring.” I glanced over my shoulder only to see no one, kinda’ like I had expected but it slightly eased my nerves to check.

“And it matters if they were?”

“It doesn’t I guess, it just feels weird. I mean, I’m conflicted.” He glanced at me, his eyes so open and vulnerable.

“Conflicted?” I nodded, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat. “All I want to do is just hold your stupid hand but I just feel like everyone is staring. And I hate that that is stopping me but...it is.” I looked at him from the corner of my eye only to see him smirking at me before quickly my hand was enveloped in his own, making my heart beat 3 times faster than it should.

“You should have just said so, I don’t mind being the more romantic one if that’s what you need. I’m an artist, I have to be a romantic.” I moved my hand so our fingers were interconnected. “I’m very intune with my emotions, and I am perfectly fine with showing them more if you need, just please Ryuji,” He stopped his walked, forcing me to stop as well in order to keep our hands connected. “You must be honest with me about what you want, I don’t want to ever misunderstand your desires like I did last time.” His face was pained, which caused my gut to twitch in a way I had never experienced before. I glanced around the street, it was mostly empty except for the stores that had opened their fronts in the hot summer days.

“Do you blame yourself for it? I didn’t exactly make it seem like I wanted a relationship with you after that night.” He nodded but still wouldn't look at me, even once I was in front of him. “Yusuke, we can’t start this relationship out with you blaming yourself for something like that. It was both of our faults and that needs to be the end of it.” I set the crinkly paper bag of ramen down so I had one free hand to pull his chin down so he was forced to make eye contact with me. “Okay?” He nodded. “Say it.”

“I will stop blaming myself for the disconnect that happened between us after that night.” I smiled before standing up straight to press a quick kiss to his lips, feeling my whole face burn up as I pulled away to pick up to food so we could keep walking.

We had small conversations on the subway but never did our hands come apart even once we got to his dormitory. I caught people looking at us but I decided to just keep my eyes trained on him leading us through the maze of hallways until eventually I saw him reach for his stupid key ring so he could unlock the thick looking wooden door. As I glanced around I began to notice that the halls were covered in expensive looking art and there were actual chandeliers in the centre of the hall. Before I could say anything Yusuke pushed open the door and pulled me in. “If you'd like you can put the ramen on the counter and I'll get napkins after I put my bag down.”

“Holy shit man, look at this place!” How could he ever not want to stay in a dorm that looked like this? There was the main room that had his queen bed pressed against the corner, a small table with a blanket folded under it, with a small table sitting on it. There was an easel in the corner with a painting started on it. There was a small kitchen to the right, with a mini fridge, sink, oven and stove, then to the left there was a short hallway with what I assume to be the washroom at the end. The walls were a bright grey and they were covered in paintings that look like their his own, as well as a single picture of all of us taped up next to his bed.

“It is quite cosy.” I rolled my eyes and walked over to place the bag of food on the table before tossing my bag at the foot of the bed. I glanced at Yusuke to see him slipping his sketch book in the drawer of his desk before pulling out a smaller one that looked much more battered up then the ones I had seen him carrying before.

“This place is bigger than my apartment, how is it just you living here?” He looked up and shrugged,

“I don't get along well with my peers here, so I got a room to myself.” I quickly changed the subject not wanting to dive any deeper into that seemingly painful topic.

“What do you wanna’ watch?” I grabbed our bowls from the bag and sat them next to each other, before pulling out the chopsticks and handing a set to him as we both sat down. “I don't really watch much tv so whatever you like, I don't even know what's really on.” I reached out and turned it on, flipping through the channels until I saw a nature documentary that had Yusuke making a surprised little gasp at the Sharks swimming through the water. I started eating as Yusuke’s eyes were glued to the tv in wonder, he was honestly like a child with the amount of wonder in his eyes. As the show changed from sharks to whales his wonder changed from childlike to artistic desire. “Look at how they move,” he paused for a moment, not waiting for a response but more so like he was trying to put his thoughts into words. “Only nature could make a living animal with such perfect lines. There isn’t a sharp or awkward form on it, everything is perfectly smooth and always with a purpose.” I had no words for him, just looking at the expression on his face made my heart flutter.

We sat together watching the sea creatures gracefully moving through the water as if they owned the whole damn ocean. Whether it was the Bull shark, following its prey with precise and calculated motions, or the Humpback whale that is the giant of the sea but wouldn’t hurt a fly, or even a school of barracuda that seem like they share a single mind as Yusuke phrased it.

“I’ll put mine in the fridge too, you can finish it if you want.” I said, putting the two bowls away before heading back over to see Yusuke now sitting on the bed, stretching his long legs out so they were hanging off the bed.

“Come sit.” I crawled onto the bed next to him, as he rested his head on my shoulder and pulling my hand into his lap, wrapping both of his hands around it. “May I ask you something?” I nodded, watching him rather than the tv. “Are you gay?” That's been a question I've been asking myself since that night. I still didn’t have an answer and I kinda’ wanted to keep it that way.

“I dunno’” he laughed, smiling up at me.

“I don’t even know what I expected for you to say.” He nuzzled into my shoulder, pressing a chaste kiss to my shoulder.

“Are you?”

“I believe so, I’m not attracted to the female form, more appreciative of it. I like looking at it but only for the beauty of it, I gain no arousal from it.”

“Oh so the male form _arouses you_?” It wasn’t a real question, it was more cheeky than anything. He looked at my shit eating grin before realizing it wasn’t genuine.

“Why else would I have come into the shower room when I knew you were in there?” I got up on my knees and faced him,

“So you’re aroused by _my_ form?” He got flustered at the question. “Is that why you asked to bring the food back here? So you could see me?” He worried at his lower lip, before nodding ever so slightly. _Shit I didn’t expect that answer_. To be fair, I guess Yusuke has never really ‘joked around’.

“I’ve missed you...and your form.” _Okay shit that was really hot…_ He kept nibbling his lower lip as I began devouring him with my eyes.

“Well artist, it seems like it’s time for you to do your thing.” He nodded at me, getting up from the bed to go retrieve that battered sketch book that I've never seen before. I sat there awkwardly, not really knowing what to do with myself so I just watched him move about the room. He glanced over his shoulder realizing he was in his own little world before putting the book on the bed before touching my cheek gently. It could have been all the talk of arousal or the fact that I’ve been jerking off to nothing other than the memory of this boy face down ass up on a cheap motel bed, but as soon as his hand touched my face I grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him close enough to devour his lips and claim them as my own.

It was like a switch was flipped because suddenly I was on top of him, clawing needily at his tank top while nipping at his lips. His hands slipped under my shirt and began running up and down the sides of my chest, ghosting closer to my pecs but never touching. Quickly and without warning, he pulled me flush against him so I could clearly feel how hard he was for me. That was it for me.

I got on my knees over him once more, making sure that I was low enough that I still had pressure on his erection while being able to take my shirt off and throw it somewhere in the room, quickly doing the same with his. I leaned back down and attached myself to his pale neck, leaving a path of bruises that everyone would get to see in the morning. “Ry-uu-ji” I growled in response, humping against him like an animal in heat. “Wait.” I froze, thinking I had done something wrong.

“Yusuke?” I pulled away to see his eyes doe-like and the hickies already starting to bruise. “Did I-”

“We can’t have sex tonight.”

“Why.” My tone was more harsh then I meant it to be. “Sorry, I didn’t mean for that to sound angry, that’s totally okay, just why?” I huffed out, only to see him smiling shyly.

“I haven't done...anything like that since that night. I can’t handle it right now, I need to take some time to stretch before that.” I nodded totally getting it, but still a bit disappointed. I rolled off of him so I was sandwiched between him and the wall.

“I get it, don't worry, when you’re ready just tell me.” I reached down and grabbed at my shorts, trying to move my erection into a more comfortable position, but I eventually gave up and just reached into my pants and pulled it up so it was stuck between my lower belly and my shorts, giving me at least a bit of friction.

“Excuse me,” without warning Yusuke was on top of me, immediately pulling my shorts lower until my erection was fully visible. “Just because I said we can’t have sex, does not mean this is over.” He dragged his fingers down my chest, ghosting over my shaft but never touching it, leaving me to bulk my hips in frustration.

“Yusuke,” I breathed, it wasn’t even intentional, I just breathed an then I was saying his name. I needed him. “I need you.” He got off me completely, standing at the side of the bed in only his black jeans that had gotten quite tight. Without a thought about what I was doing, I slid off the bed and on to my knees in front of him, and began to undo his pants, pulling them down to his knees so I was able to see his smeared member. He was completely flawless. There wasn’t a single thing out of place on his body. “And you said _I_ look like a statue.” His knees went weak, I could tell by the way he drooped for a moment before regaining his composure. I smiled, looking up at him to see his needy eyes and his bottom lip once more caught in his teeth. I wanted to do something, I wanted him to make all those sweet noises that drove me crazy that night.

Trying to do without thinking, I leaned forward to my lips were pressing a kiss to the head of his member, licking my lips experimentally to taste him. The taste wasn't unbearable so I decided to continue in hopes he would make those soft sounds again. I wrapped my lips around his member, leaving my hands gripping the sides of his thighs while pushing my head down further in an attempt to take more of him in my mouth. “Ryu-u- _jii_?!” I'm sure when he gasped it out he expected it to sound composed as all of his words often do, but rather it sounded like a surprised little groan that sent even more blood down to my lower region. As I got used to the rhythm I was trying to keep his hands found their way into my hair, pulling at the ends ever so slightly in a silent encouragement to keep going.

I guess I got overly confident because in a passing moment of trying to remember how people in pornos do it I pushed myself forward so that his head hit the back of my throat and made me pull off and launch into a crazed coughing fit. There I was, curled up in a ball at the feet of a man who I'm sure could blow someone in a car on a bumpy road and never once gag. He slowly bent down and rubbed my back whispering for me to breathe. “Don’t force yourself, you’ll get there.” I shook my head and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

“I ain’t as good as you.” He chuckled pulling my chin up so I was forced to accept his lips being pushed against mine for a moment before they were gone and replaced by his gentle words,

“Trust me, you’re good at other things Skull.” _Shit when he calls me that it does things to me_. He must have seen how my erection bobbed at his words because before I could really understand what was going on I was up on the bed with my fingers being sucked, one by one into his mouth with his tongue swirling around each.

“Got any lube?” I unevenly asked, trying my best to watch every one of his movements. While still sucking on three of my fingers, he nodded towards the desk that was next to the easel. “Should I grab it?” he nodded again sucking even harder on my fingers before pulling off with a _pop_. I forced myself to stand, leaving him sprawled across the bed, his legs stretching out in a picture perfect way that made me want to kiss every inch of his Snow White skin. I shakily walked to his desk pulling out the pink bottle of lube from his drawer, noticing it was lighter than I expected but just before I could read to much into it I turned around.

There he was, on his stomach with his hand reached under with one finger being slowly pushed inside of himself. I don’t think I've ever moved so fast in my life, I cleared the space between us in an instant, which still felt too long. I stood next to the bed, tossed the lube onto the bed next to him before our eyes met. He looked up at me through his bangs and smiled before letting a soft whine escape his lips, “S-k _ull_ I need you in my mouth.”

I almost fell down.

Some strange dominator took over inside of me, making me grab his face and pull him up so he was perched on his knees standing face to face with me, with his finger still going in and out of him. I mashed out lips together, devouring his lips like I hadn’t kissed anyone in centuries. I bit and grabbed at his body, surely leaving some sort of marks but wasn’t snapped out of my passionate daze until he breathed out, “ _Please_ in my mouth, I need it.” He dropped down into his previous position again and all the while looking up at me, he licked at the head before gripping my shaft and pulling the foreskin as he pumped me ever closer to that approaching peak. I reached back, ghosting my fingers along his spine before I could slap his hand away and pressing a single finger into his stretched hole. I felt his surprised yelp around my member, which then turned into a long groan as I crooked my finger inside of him.

As I moved forward to reach further into him I pushed my cock further down his throat, never once feeling him gag or push me away. But the moment I felt my head hit the back of his throat, it threw me over the edge. I pulled my finger from inside him, and instead I grabbed the back of his head and began bucking with an unsteady and erratic pace.

Just as I was about to get there, he began moaning around me, the vibrations sent me crashing over the edge. And in a moment of attempting to be a gentleman, I pulled out hoping I could catch it and save the mess, but instead I ended up getting it all over his face and hair. I tried to apologize, I tried to clean it but before I could move my body or collect myself enough to speak he stuck his tongue out and licked a particularly big drop from his cheek.

“Sit” he rolled to one side so I could flop down next to the pillow, I rubbed my face in the pillow before rolling down and laying back on my stomach. After a few seconds of us laying in silence I heard him groan softly next to me. Before I could roll over to see what he was doing, I felt his hand slowly run up the back of my thigh and grab my ass. I glanced over my shoulder to see Yusuke on his stomach, hand between himself and the bed with his other kneading my cheeks, eyes dead set on me. “May I try something?” I nodded, completely entranced by him. He pushed himself up, displaying his rigid member dangling between his slender thighs as he crawled on top of me, an arm on either side of my shoulder and a knee next to the sides of my hips, lastly his cock perched right on top of my ass. I could feel his hot breath on the scruff of my neck as he started to rock his hips against me, his cock moving gently between my cheeks.

“ _Inari_ , I want you to cum on me.” The crast words seemed to get him going, his pace increased quickly before losing all rhythm and becoming more and more destprete.

_Then he started chanting my name._

If I weren’t so spent I would have been diamond hard, but instead when he slumped down on top of me I just rolled so he slipped off my back and was laying next to me, passed out. Even though he was so much taller then me I still spooned him like he was half my height. “I know you’re sleeping but,” I nestled my chin into his neck as I whispered to him “I missed you so much my fox. I’m sorry you didn’t get to draw whatever it was you wanted.” I pressed gentle kisses along his shoulders before I dozed off with him in my arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for baring with me, I've been crazy busy but now that the holidays are over I'm going to try to write this more often. I have it all planned out it's just a matter of putting it down on paper. I promise there's gonna be some actual plot development after this, I just had to get this smut out of my system first.


	4. Don't Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow look at me actually updating not a fuckin' decade later! I have up to chapter 5 done so far but this is turning out to be longer than I expected so please bare with me, because I'm still trying to get the end planned out and fitting for the characters. I appreciate all the kudos, comments, and people who have subscribed to this work in progress it really makes my day getting the simplest comment. Thank you everyone!

I woke up to a wall I didn’t recognize. Glanced up blinking like crazy at the picture taped to the wall of all of us squished together to get into frame, making the memories of last night come crashing down on me. “Yu-” I started to roll over in hopes I could draw him back into bed, missing his heat.

“Don’t move” I jumped at his voice which was laced with dominance.

“Okay if there’s a spider or somethin’ on me just get it!” I was launched into a panicked state, convincing myself that I could feel the eight little feet creeping across my back that was facing him.

“There’s no spider, I’m almost done just stay still for a moment or two.” I wasn’t immediately calmed, but it was nice to hear his voice, even if he wasn’t in bed next to me.

“When can I move?” I heard him chuckle which made my stomach tingle on the inside like there was a bunch of feathers floating around in there.

“Alright you can move now.” I rolled over to see him perched on his desk stool in front of the easle that he had moved from the corner of the room to now facing towards the bed, his head poking out from behind it so our eyes met in a stupid, overly romantic way. I got out of bed, and wandered over to him, wrapping my arms across his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his temple before I glanced up at the canvas that he was shading. It was plainly to see, it was me, facing away from the watcher. The blanket was draped across my low hip, showcasing my hips moving up my back but my face wasn’t in view just the back of my neck and bedhead.

“Wow” No one had ever sketched me, _obviously_. But I never expected it would ever happen, let alone look this good. Every muscle was shaded to look 3D and realistic, every scar or imperfection from the any palace or track falls were taken out and all that was left was a perfect god-like image.

“I told you, you resemble a greek god.” if I hadn’t been so stunned I would have scoffed and ran my hands along his painting perfect torso and poked fun at him, but I still hadn’t gotten it through my head that that was actually me. “Are you unhappy with it?” I shook my head.

“G-god no, it’s beautiful.” He turned on the stool so we was facing me, leaving the sketch behind so he could stand up flush against me. He was wearing pair of blue boxer briefs with a small cherry print and a button up shirt that even on him was long and went to just about his mid thigh.

“I was hoping that I might be able to use it for my show.” He drew my chin up so I was looking up at him and wasn’t able to look away so there was no way he could not notice how flustered I was. “If it’s alright of course.”

“Uh yeah sure.” He smiled softly at me before leaning down and pressing his lips to my own in a quick but loving kiss. “What were you planning on drawing before we got...carried away last night?” He laughed that velvety chuckle that makes my knees quiver.

“Always this” He ran his hands along my sides as he stepped back to look me over. “I noticed after everything happened that night that you looked very calm while being very...tousled post sex, and ever since then I've wanted to draw you like that. I've attempted it in the past but they weren’t as accurate as I wanted because I didn’t have you there in front of me.”

“So your plan was always for this to happen?” He nodded, no longer attempting to play shy about his intentions.

“I would like to sketch something further, but for my person collection, I don’t wish to share _this_ sight of you with anyone else.” that both made me feel like I wanted to faint while also making me get a little hot and bothered.

“I think that would be a _really_ great idea.” I wrapped my arm around his waist and pulled him flush against me,

“I’m not doing anything right now.” I rocked onto my toes so I could connect our lips in an assertive manner, drawing his face down with me when I stood back my normal height. He made muffled noises as I palmed his crotch forcing me to pull back from his smooth lips.

“As much as I would _like_ to, I have to finish this sketch and finish up a painting or two more before the show tomorrow.” I nodded, understanding but disappointed nevertheless. “You’re more than welcome to stay, I have a collection of smaller sketches that I have to put together from my personal collection that I would love to have you perspective on.” I stepped back and fell back on the bed, feeling it bounce under me in a pleasing sort of way.

“I can look but you might not want to trust my judgement, I’m not very artsy.” He smiled at me before walking over to his desk and fetching that same beat up sketchbook he had last night. He walked over and handed it to me,

“I trust your judgment always, flip through this and pick five or six sketches that you like the most and they’ll be the ones I show. I want a piece of you to be in this show.” My face burned like I had just been in a sauna for an hour, the amount of love he puts into every word was such a new experience for me, one that I never thought I would be so lucky to experience first hand and with someone who makes me feel so much. I opened the sketch book to see on the first page a sketch of a woman, it was a three quarters shot that showed her face and breast but then her rear and the backs of her legs until they ended just above the knees. The form was gentle and graceful, it seemed to lack any definitive detail, the eyes were curved lines making it look as though they are shut, and the pair was long and flowing. It was a breathtaking piece that I feel is just the beginning of these pieces.

I flipped to the next page to see a piece that was much more of what I expected, it was a piece that was just the back of a naked man, the arms were up and the hands clutching either side of the fluffy hair that was shaded a dark grey or black. The figure was rather thin instead of muscular but with a lot of the attention to detail on the shape of the supple rear. This piece left something to be desired with me, i think because i wanted that sketch to be me and the thought of him seeing someone else like this and feeling compelled to sketch him left a churning in my gut. I frustratingly flipped through the next couple of pages, relieved to see pictures of anything besides naked men. There was a sketch that I recognized immediately as the giant golden statue from Madarame's palace that stood in the center of one of the halls and had a name along the lines of ‘human suffering’ or something like that. A few more pages and I saw rough sketches for the painting Yusuke did with the help of Akira going into Mementos with him in order to get inspiration. A pull of jealousy tugged again from my stomach which I immediately tried to explain to myself why being jealous of Akira is pointless. Yusuke and I weren’t that close when he needed to go into mementos, plus Akira was our leader it makes sense he would want his help when it came to the possibility of fighting.

“Have you found any?” I glanced up at him, seeing that he had unpacked all of his pieces for the show and leaned against the wall facing him. Now he was standing in front of them all, the end of a pencil to his lips and his eyes innocently looking at me, waiting for an answer.

“Uh yeah, these are nice. I like the ones from the palaces. These are your personal sketches right?” He nodded glancing back at the art. Very few of them weren’t abstract except for the sketch of me and one painted in the style of an old edo period piece. “Whose the guy in here?” I asked flipping back to the previous sketch and pointing at it for him to see the one I meant.

“Akira” You could have knocked me over with a feather. It felt like my heart was broken in two but I couldn’t explain why. I was jealous I knew that much but why. The silence fell between us and it felt uncomfortable to me but Yusuke didn’t seen to notice.

I didn’t know what to do. Do I say something, or do I just shut up and not let him know that bothers me? Instead of saying anything I just reached down to the floor next to the bed and grabbed my boxers, deciding that I’m going to start getting ready to leave and then come up with some excuse to go and leave him to his work. He doesn’t need any more stress on him right now, if I still felt this way after the show I’d talk to him then.

“You’re leaving?” He looked up at me as I pulled my shorts on followed by my shirt.

“Yeah uh' mum needs my help cleaning the house she just texted.” He stared blankly at me for a moment before glancing at my phone that was sitting on the table closer to him then me _shit._ It's possible he was drawing the connection between his answer and my sudden need to leave, but if he did figure it out he didn’t say anything.

“Ah alright then, you will come to the show tomorrow right?” I walked over to him, and even though my jealousy burned in my stomach I gave him a hug and kissed him quickly.

“Definitely, I wouldn’t miss it.” He beamed down at me, leaning down to press our foreheads together, “Any of those sketches would be amazing to show, just not the one on the second page. Any other one.” He furrowed his brow for a moment before pressing another kiss to my lips and playing with my hair for a moment.


	5. Do People Bring Roses to Art Shows?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This seems a bit rough no matter how many times I read over this. So please bare with me, I'm going to keep reading this over so that I can edit while it's posted. I would love some thoughts on this overall story, because I'm hitting a bit of a wall with it. Thanks and enjoy!

Is it weird to bring roses to an art show? I stood at the little flower shop in the underground mall and just stared. I’m going early enough that none of our friends will be there so it’s not a case of them finding out, I just don’t know if you’re supposed to do this. Either way, I bought a small bouquet of roses, just 6 of them. Roses are expensive. I hopped on the long subway ride to the art museum getting a few weird looks because of the roses sticking out of my bag.

The subway station for the museum was attached to the gallery so the station for it was designed with art in mind, all the columns were shaped differently, Yusuke once explained that each column represents a different art movement, which really means nothing to me but since Yusuke was the one who told me I always kept it in my mind.

I was very lucky that they sign posted the school exhibit otherwise I would have been wandering around this place for hours just trying to find Yusuke. Eventually I found the room, taking a deep breath before walking in and scouting for the tall boy.

My eyes landed on him and my heart sank. Standing next to him was our leader, both of them laughing in the middle of the empty gallery surrounded by all of his beautiful pieces. I hastily shoved the roses completely in my bag as to not let Akira see them, still trying to keep this whole thing under wraps for the time being. “Hey Ryuji!” Akira stared at me, Yusuke’s eyes sparkled but even that wasn’t enough to make my heart feel better.

“Hey, you’re early.” Akira shrugged,

“Eh, I thought I’d help Yusuke set up. You’re pretty early too.” _Shit what do I say?_

“Oh yea I was just in the area and thought I would come early to see if he needed anything.” Yusuke still hadn’t said a word this whole time, just looking between the two of us.

“Th-hank you.” Yusuke spat out as though he wasn’t able to speak. Before anyone could say anything else my phone started ringing ridiculously loudly, making me jump and scramble to fish it out of my bag, noticing that they could totally see the roses. I answered it and as I did so I started leaving the room without a word to either of them.

“Are you there already?” Ann questioned on the line.

“Hello to you too.” I was pretty pissed, not for a real reason but I was.

“Oh hi. Are you there already?”

“Yeah I am, where are you guys?” I kept walking, I had no clue where I was going but I was walking in the opposite direction from the two of them so that was a positive right now.

“We’re waiting outside to buy our tickets.”

“Tickets?”

“Yeah dummy _tickets_. You know those things that you buy to go _into_ an art gallery?” Ann’s voice for once wasn’t grating on my nerves, it was actually slowly helping me feel less shitty.

“They just took my name and let me in.”

“Well aren’t you special, not all of us are Yusuke’s favourite so we low class civilians have to buy things.” I smiled when she said I was his favourite, I don’t know why she said it, it felt a little out of place for Ann but either way it made me feel a lot better. I glanced around the room I had wandered into and noticed it was completely empty except for a few paintings on the wall with a bench in the middle, Yusuke’s bag and jacket perched on top of the leather. While listening to Ann ramble about _how dare I get in free_ I walked over to Yusuke’s bag, unzipped it and tucked the battered bouquet into it, leaving the flowers just poking out of the top. I noticed beside the bag was his sketchbook, I picked it up and started flipping through it and immediately noticed that the sketch of Akira is no longer in it which guiltily made me feel a lot better. “We just all got our tickets so we’re on our way, we’ll see you soon.” The other end of the line beeped until I hung up as well and sat on the bench, the sketch book in my hands still. I heard footsteps coming towards me but I didn’t want to move, I just flipped through the sketch book landing on a page that made my heart go back to soaring. It was just my face, it looks like it was done while I was sleeping because all my features were perfectly relaxed.

“There you are.” I glanced up to see Yusuke standing in the doorway.

“Yeah sorry, Ann called.” He walked over, sitting down next to me and seeing the book in my hands open to the sketch of me.

“I was hoping when you were going through that you’d find this, I guess you never did.” I shook my head. “Did I upset you yesterday?” his voice wasn’t the usual ‘Yusuke calm’ (trademarked) it was softer and a little uneven, almost like a whisper. I sighed, trying to figure out how to put these feelings into words. I shook my head, not wanting to upset him or cloud his mind with any relationship concerns before his big day. I’m sure he could explain himself about the sketch, but truthfully, I’m not entirely sure I want to truth so for right now, I’ll just focus on making sure this day is all _him_.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I was just a little grumpy is all.” I turned so I could press our foreheads together, pulling his hand onto my lap and just holding it hoping that he wouldn’t push anymore about the topic. “I brought you roses” He didn’t say a word, I watched as his eyes widen as he attempted to look everywhere but at me, before he threw his arms around my neck and put his entire body weight on me. It took me a moment before I reacted, wrapping my arms around his waist and nuzzling into his neck.

“No one has ever done that for me...thank you.” I peppered kisses along the side of his face and his neck. Thankful of his high uniform collar because of the deep purple marks that I left there.

“We should probably head back, people ought to be showin’ up soon right?” He nuzzled into my neck one final time before pulling away and nodding. I stood up and reached a hand out for him, not so much to help him up but to be romantic and all that. He took my hand and stood up, hardly pulling on me at all before he was standing at my side, tugging on my arm slightly to follow him. “I was thinking we could go out for dinner after this.” He looked back at me and nodded.

“That would be quite nice, maybe Shabu-Shabu?” our footsteps echoed the vacant hallway we were walking down, turning over and over again as though we were in a maze, I couldn’t help but think _how the fuck did I manage to get myself here, I thought I was walking in a straight line_. We eventually got back to the exhibit but even before we walked over the threshold we could hear the low mumbles of many people and I watched as Yusuke froze completely.

“You got this man, they’re all going to love your art.” I pulled his frozen form close enough to me that I could press a kiss to his hand in an attempt to calm him. “I’ve never seen ya’ like this. We fought a literal god, and even then you weren’t like this.”

“This is my first _real_ art show. Of course my art has been shown before, either not under my own name or a single piece featured in a exhibit of other people’s work. But this is _all_ my art.” I glanced around behind us, making sure none of our friends were milling about before cupping his face in my hands and bringing his face close enough to mine that I could kiss him quickly in an attempt to calm his nerves.

“I’ll be here to support ya’, if you need me just come find me.” He smiled meekly at me, nodding slightly before our hands parted as we both walked over the threshold into the brightly lit gallery to see crowds of people now all staring at Yusuke. The room erupted into applause as Yusuke stood there a few steps away from me, I glanced up at him seeing him attempt to keep his composure, but I could tell it was slipping.

“Thank you everyone for coming to view the fruits of my labour, this collection has no overarching name however each piece has been given a particular name that I feel perfectly captures its essence. So please, enjoy my works.” Another eruption of applause drowned him out as he glanced at me leaning on the wall and clapping for him, a smile creeping across his lips.

“What happened to ‘I’ll come meet you guys’?” I heard Ann’s high voice call across the room at me once the crowds had gone back to mingling amongst themselves. Yusuke now going through the crowds so that people are able to talk to him.

“Ya’ sorry Ma called so I needed to talk to her, I lost track of the time.” My group of misfit friends eventually enveloped me, Ann slinging her arm around my neck, Haru laughed quietly as Makoto tried to quiet us both down as we were ‘at an art exhibit and should act like it’.

“Well don’t you look nice.” She cheekily said to me, arm still around my neck and gesturing down to my black jeans, yellow t-shirt and black open button up shirt with the sleeves pushed up just past my elbows. “Are you tryin’ to impress some girl.” I rolled my eyes, subconsciously searching the crowds for Yusuke, eventually landing my gaze on him, only to see Akira at his side as he discusses something with an important looking man created a second of gut wrenching pain strike the side of my stomach.

“I figured if I didn’t I’d never hear the end of it.” Ann finally got off me, letting me stand straight up and actually get to look at the three other girls standing with us.

“Let’s not just stand here and gab, let’s go l _oooo_ k!” Futaba sang, grabbing Haru’s hand and pulling her in another direction away from the rest of us, leaving Ann, Makoto and myself. Ann followed them quickly, leaving Makoto and I to walk at a normal pace over to the natural start of the exhibit.

“You do look quite nice.” Makoto said softly, “Ann made it seem like a bad thing that you dressed up.”

“Thanks.” I had never really gotten close to Makoto but she was always nice to me whenever we spoke privately. But in situations like this it was nice to have someone who wasn’t going to constantly make fun of me to hang around, normally that was Yusuke but since he was talking to his fans, Makoto was a nice option.

As we walked through the room that was slowly becoming more and more crowded we looked at Yusuke’s art in wonder, occasionally talking about them, but since none of us were huge art buffs it was mostly comments like; “I like this one” and “doesn’t this one remind you of Madarame's palace?” Eventually we got close enough to Yusuke and Akira for them to notice us and come talk.

“I believe I was just asked to do a commission.” Yusuke whispered into my ear, his warm breath making my knees weak.

“That’s fantastic!” I realized I had said that much louder then I had meant to but his beaming smile made it worth the confused stares.

We hung around the exhibit until the bulk of the patrons were gone, but there were still a few stragglers when Yusuke joined all of us sitting on one of the massive leather benches we were all sitting on. “Thank you all for coming.” Multiple people spoke out with assorted reponses before he spoke again. “I thought it might be nice for all of us to go out for dinner together to celebrate our reunion with our fearless leader.”

_Oh fuck_

I couldn’t hold back the choked breath that slipped past my lips at his words. _I wanted to take him out. **Just Him.**_

“That would be so nice!! Just like old times!” Ann sang out, standing up and adjusting her bag onto her shoulder. “Where should we go?” All eyes but mine landed on Akira who was deep in fake thought.

“Hot pot” I glanced at Yusuke, hoping to catch his gaze so I could somehow signal for a moment alone with him. But much to my dismay, his eyes were glued on Akira.

I probably shouldn’t have even gone to the dinner considering how pissed I was, but I attempted to be a good sport but it was probably really apparent that I was in a shit mood and didn’t want to be there. The whole dinner was everyone talking to Akira or about Akira. Ohhhh what did you do over the summer? Do you have other friends there? Do you have a girlfriend? Is it weird being back? Blah blah blah. I hoped that after the dinner I could talk to Yusuke but even when we were on the subway it was all about Akira, and when I got off the subway at my stop he didn’t even smile at me as I left.

I didn’t even text him goodnight, which made me feel like an asshole but truth be told I couldn’t not be an asshole at this point.


	6. Just go, I got it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I'm sorry this has taken so long! I've been really blocked with writing and working lots. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I promise the next few chapters will be coming a lot quicker.

Anytime I’ve texted him, hoping to get together he’s already got plans with _him_. I hate to be jealous or _that_ person, but honestly I’ve cussed some rather iffy words anytime he brings him up in text conversation. It’s been about a week since I’ve even seen Yusuke, barley leaving the house at all. I’ve been invited to a couple different group hangs, but I always find an excuse because there’s no way I’d be able to fake a smile.

The only person who seems to have noticed much of a difference in me is Ann. I can’t say that surprises me, we’ve known each other for so long that she knows this isn’t like me. At this point, I’m texting _her_ more than my actual boyfriend. Twisted, I know.

I was ripped from my thoughts by a knock at the door, after a second my mum pushed my bedroom door open and peaked in. “Hi.” she smiled at me, it was a little sad but a smile nevertheless. “Ann is here, do you want to see her?” I stood up from where I was sitting on the ground and nodded, walking towards my mum.

“She’ll never let me forget it if I don’t.” Mum smiled at me again, resting a hand on my back as I walked past her in the hall where Ann was standing.

“Did you just forget to text me back?” She rested a hand on her popped hip, giving me that raised eyebrow ‘you know what you’ve done’ look.

“No, I just didn’t feel like talkin’” she scoffed at me, as though the idea of me not wanting to talk to her 24/7 was the most ridiculous thing she’s ever heard.

“Well clearly there’s something on your mind, and _all_ I’m trying to do is figure it out so I can help you!” I glanced to the side at my mum who was sitting at the kitchen table _totally_ eavesdropping.

“Yeah I got things on my mind, but it’s no big deal.” I shrugged, hoping she wouldn’t push anymore, but this is Ann we’re talking about. The queen of getting what she wants. I made the mistake of meeting her gaze and saw that the usual arched eyebrow and upturned corners of her lips weren’t there, unlike what I expected. Instead her eyes were worried, watching my every minute expression change like it would tell her _exactly_ what I was thinking.

“Let’s go to Shibuya diner, my treat.” She said, her expression changing almost completely from the interrogating and annoyed Ann that I knew the best, to a look of compassion. It was an expression I did _not_ like.

“Fine.” I grabbed my jacket from the closet next to me, kissing ma on the cheek before walking out the apartment with Ann ahead of me. Nothing was really said between her and I until we got on the subway where she attempted to explain to me why she cared so much, but I was past the point of listening to her reason, preferring to just sit in the slightly awkward silence for a few stops.

“Alright, so spill it.” her voice made me wince before I met her gaze for the first time since we left the house.

“I knew this was a loaded invite.” she didn’t react at all to my words, just sat there patiently waiting for me to explain myself. Taking a deep breath and staring intensely at the glass of soda bubbling away in front of me. “So I’ve been seeing this... _person_. And things were going really well for awhile until one of our mutual friends came back into town. Now I can hardly get a second of their time without this person around us.” She was staring at me, brow furrowed. “All I want to do is hang out with the one person alone because they’re so different when the other person is with us and it’s just so weird.”

“So hold on, I’m a bit confused. We’re talking about two people?” I nodded. “And you want the attention of both?”

“No, just one of them.” “

But the two other people are always together?”

“Exactly.”

“And you don’t like the second person?” I watched as the wheels began to turn in her head, probably going over every single person I’ve ever spoken to, trying desperately to figure out who it is.

“I don’t think I don’t like them.” She sighed heavily and slumped in her seat. “I guess I just don’t like them around the other person instead of with me.”

“Can we just use names for  _my_ sake? I’m getting so turned around with all the ‘them’ ‘they’ and ‘oh that other person’.” I stayed silent, attempting to act as though I hadn’t heard her over my sudden fascination in the fake wooden table. “Can I guess?” I shrugged. “So that second person is Akira, right?”

“Y-yea.” She smiled at me.

“That man is an accidental lady killer, it was an easy guess. But the first one...Makoto?” I shook my head. “Haru?” _No_. “It’s not Futaba is it?” Her voice was slightly heightened.

“God no.” she over dramatically placed a hand on her forehead as though so relieved she might faint.

“Now I’m going to guess one, and you can’t freak out if I’m wrong, it’s just an educated guess.” _She’s about to get it, isn’t she_. “Yusuke.” Despite me being prepared for her to eventually get it, I still felt my heart rate spike in sudden fear of being found out.

“Yea…” I whispered, just barley meeting her gaze to see the sweetest smile I’ve ever seen grace the lips of Ann.

“Ryuji, I say this because I care...That is the cutest pairing I’ve ever seen!” before she could say anything more I looked up at her, no longer trying to hide how vulnerable I felt but rather, allowing her to see it.

“Why did you guess him before any other guy we know?” she placed her coffee cup down on the table, thinking to herself for a second before smiling way too gently at me, shrugging.

“I guess you two seemed closer lately, and the whole thing with him putting you on his guest list for the art exhibit tipped me off.” I smiled to myself. “Plus, I see the way he looks at you.”

“Pfft, his eyes ain’t on me lately.” She caught one of her curls between who fingers and worried them slightly.

“Have you talked to him about this?” Slumping down in my seat I looked everywhere but at her, shaking my head just enough for her to understand. “You can’t expect him to just _read your mind_ Ryuji, you need to use your mouth and actually tell him.”

“Yeah but how?”

“Take him out, just the two of you. And talk to him, explain that you want to spend more time with him.”

“But he’s _always_ with Akira.” She sipped her coffee still smirking at my troubles.

“Do you want me to talk to Akira? Or even Yusuke? I could explain to them that you’re too uncomfortable to confront them but you feel that Akira is stepping on your toes, and that he needs to back off?”

“That’s a tempting offer, but I feel that that’s kinda’ a cop out, y’know?” She nodded, I guess she understood where I was coming from. “But at the same time, whenever I try to have a serious talk with Yusuke I just end up...not.”

“I get that, but imagine how good it’ll feel when he knows that you’re _jealous_.” she smiled like I was missing something completely.

“What does that even mean, isn’t bein’ jealous annoying?” She shook her head quickly enough that one of her ponytails smacked her face.

“No way, having a guy be jealous of you being around someone is one of the nicest feelings, it’s like knowing that that person really cares about you because they see it as the possibility of losing you.” It took me a moment to put together what she was trying to say, but she reached across and grabbed my hand “Ryuji, if this is the person who makes you happy and if Yusuke is as happy as he looks I’m sure he’ll understand your feelings. Both parties in a relationship are entitled to their own feelings even if they don’t always match up, he’ll understand I promise.”

“I think I should talk to Akira first.” she nodded, “Just so I can tell him about us in private then I can explain my...feelings to Yusuke after that.”

“That sounds like a plan,” She glanced at her phone screen “LeBlanc is closing pretty soon, why don’t cha’ head over and talk to Akira now, then you can talk to Yusuke tomorrow?” Standing up from the booth I nodded,

“That’s a good idea, I’ll head there. T-thanks Ann.” I grabbed my wallet about to riffle through to grab enough coin to cover my drink but before I could Ann shoved my side

“Just go, I got it.”


	7. I Swear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been written for awhile I just wanted to write the following chapter in order to figure out how to divide these two so one isn't a crazy amount longer then the other, even though they kinda' ended up that way. I tried at least.

The gentle ring of the bells hanging from the door sounded so much louder now in the mostly silent evening then it normally did. “We’re uh- OH hey!” Boss grinned at me, ushering me inside from behind the counter where he was wiping the mugs down. “Come sit down, lemme call the kid down.” He placed a glass of iced tea in front of me before sticking his head up the stairs just enough to call Akira down. “He’s just comin’ down” Boss grabbed his jacket and hat from a nearby coat rack “I best be headin’ home to make sure Futaba has eaten.” He waved to me before ducking out of the cafe as Akira skipped down the last few stairs.

“Hey man,” he stood there, grinning in what I assume are his pajamas before sitting in the booth behind me. “It’s been awhile since it’s been just us, how are ya’?” I spun on the stool so I was facing him, trying my best to put up a strong front even though my stomach was churning.

“I’m alright” there was a long silence that grew more and more awkward as the seconds ticked by. He was just staring at me, his phone every so often buzzing against the table but never once did he pay it an ounce of information. I had his entire attention and I had no idea what to do with it.

“Clearly you’re not.” He pushed up his glasses and looked at me with his concerned ‘leader’ face that he would always use whenever one of us was knocked down by a shadow. As the silence dragged on, he sat forward giving me a look over his glasses, “You can talk to me, man”

“I came here to talk about somethin’.” He stayed silent, urging me on. Staying completely still he was like a statue that was just waiting for me to finish my thought. “It’s about Yusuke.” he tried to contain himself, but I could tell I had peaked his attention by his clenched fist that gripping his own knee. “Somethin’ happened a while ago, between him and I...I guess...but then we fell out of touch after you left, he did his painting stuff and I tried to get back into runnin’ and we just lost touch. But then we ran into each other a month or so ago and it was nice y’know, seein’ him. The kinda’ nice that made me want to not lose touch again. The kinda’ nice that made me feel lik-”

“What are you trying to say, Ryuji?” His tone was sharper than I expected. The voice he used while demanding shadows to admit their wrong doings to the world outside their palaces.

“Yusuke and I are...we were together. We _are_ together” And just like that, my shoulders felt like air, my head wasn’t weighed down like it had been for the past weeks. The throbbing I had had in the forefront of my skull in an instance vanished like it had never even been there. I was finally free of this stress. “We’re dating I guess makes more sense.” I repeated to fill the growing silence while I refused to look at him. “I wanted to tell you separate from everyone because I guess you two have been around each other _a lot_ and I wanted to make sure you knew that he’s...taken.” My words were just falling out of my mouth without me thinking. Even though my mind was clear it didn’t seem to help me construct thoughts into clear sentences.

“You know…” He sighed “I should have figured, you were the last person I expected to show up at his art show.” I couldn’t decide whether that was a insult or compliment but I didn’t really have a chance to think about it before a bomb was dropped that I had only feared. “It feels only fair that you know Yusuke and I were also together, during the majority of the Phantom Thieves days.”

I felt like I was about to throw up, I wanted to get up and walk around but I knew my knees wouldn’t hold me. The room was spinning and there was nothing I could do to stop it, I wanted him to stop talking just for a second so I could just breath, but he kept going. I wanted to tell him to pause, to let me step outside and collect my screaming thoughts, but he left no room for me to beg for a break.

“We broke things off just before I went to jail, we didn’t know how long I would be gone and I didn’t want to hold him back. When I got out I knew I would have to head back home so I told him we’d have to break things off.” He paused for a second, choosing his words perfectly. “And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t come back into town thinking him and I would start things up again.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” I looked at him for the first time and saw that his expression wasn’t as malicious as I expected, it was more neutral than anything else, with a drop of sincerity.

“Because I think you have a right to know. I _also_ think you have a right to know that I completely support you two, even if I wish I had nabbed him first. I’m assuming you came here to tell me to back off your man?” A smirk played across his lips, letting me know that we were cool.

“Yeah, I haven’t seen him in, like, a week. I’m starting to forget what he looks like.” He scoffed at me, shaking his head slightly.

“Can I give you a tip?” I nodded “Invite him over, talk to him. He’s a very emotional person even if he doesn’t always show it. You gotta’ tell him how you feel otherwise if he finds out you talked to me and didn’t explain to him why, he’ll take it hard.” He reached his hand out to me, the air around us froze as I stared down at it, taking a moment before I reached out and shook it. “We good?” I nodded

“Yea man, we’re good. I’m just glad that’s off my chest.” I stood up and headed to the door,

“The more I think about it, the more you two make sense.” He looked me over, poking my neck for a sec, a massive grin playing across his lips. “I can see you two didn’t waste any time.” my entire face began to burn like the sun, I batted his finger away and pulled at my shirt, knowing full well that there was no way my shirt would cover the hickey that somehow I hadn’t noticed.

“Shut up” he put his hand on my shoulder, pulling me into him “Man, if I knew you were into dudes I would have hit you up in the beginning.” And if it were possible for my face to get any more red, it would have.

“It’s gettin’ late Imma’ head out.” He walked behind me, his hand still on my shoulder.

“I just gotta’ say this, as his ex and friend. If you hurt him, I’ll kick your ass.” His hand squeezed my shoulder as he spoke. “Even though you and I are buds, that won’t stop me if you break his heart.”

“I swear I’ll never hurt him.” We had that moment where our eyes met and I could he was 100% serious about kicking my ass, not to say I would argue with that. Yusuke is like a baby deer, if anyone hurts him they deserve what’s coming to them. As soon as I was out on the side street outside LeBlanc and the warm breeze cut through my T-shirt I pulled my phone out texting him as I heading towards the subway.

Ryuji: Hey I was hoping we could find a time to talk?

After sending the text I tucked my phone in my back pocket just as I was about to walk down the steps from central square into the subway station, having gotten frustrated at just staring at the little blue text bubble with the words ‘read 10:33’. Like I know he thinks everything through a couple hundreds of time but it’s been a few minutes now, all I’m looking for is a time and a place, is that so difficult?

Just as my train was announced to be arrive momentarily my phone buzzed over and over again. I pulled it out of my pocket to see he was calling me. “Hey” I practically yelled into the phone, trying to press the phone as close to my ear as possible in a futile attempt to drown out the whining train that was pulling into the station.

“Do you want to talk now?”

“This is kinda something I wanted to talk to you about face to face.” I And that’s when I heard the most gut wrenching sound I’ve ever heard him make, then I realized what I had done and quickly walked up the steps and towards a quieter section of the subway station. “ Yu’ I’m just gonna come down to you alright?” it wasn’t meant as a question even though I had phrased it as such. There was the sound of him sucking in a quick breath before he quietly agreed and I hung up.

It was as though my body was moving on its own. Although I had come to terms with the idea of needing to have a heartfelt conversation with him, and even the idea of me telling him that I was a jealous schoolgirl no longer made my stomach twist, but I wasn’t prepared to have that talk so soon. In my mind we would see each other in a day or so after I had had plenty of time to come up with a speech that had been practiced a couple times to myself. But as soon as I heard that whimper I knew I needed to console him right this second, if not sooner.

I hopped on a the subway that went right into his campus, immediately regretting my decision to hang up on him before asking if he could meet me to lead me to his dorm because as soon as I stepped out of the station and saw that every building looked exactly the same, I knew I was in for an adventure.


	8. Just Break Up With Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow two chapters in one week, look at me go! I know this isn't a really popular pairing but I really hope everyone is enjoying it. I'm hoping to squeeze two more chapters out of this before finishing it!

I had been walking for what seemed like decades until I came into what seemed to be a lounge, there were painting esals set up lining a massive window overlooking the rest of te campus, I assume however it’s too dark to tell. The area was empty except for a single girl who was sitting alone at a table with a shogi board laid out, with her eyes glued to the board. I’m sure if her gaze had been less intense she would be rather cute, but from where I was standing she looked quite daunting and totally not the type of person I would want to just walk up to and bother, even if it’s to get me to Yusuke quicker. I pulled out my phone to check the time but instead I accidentally slide my finger over the play button in the middle of the screen that for some reason stayed even after I ripped my headphones from the jack. I wasn’t able to act quick enough to pause the blaring music that erupted from my device and filled the almost empty room.

I froze.

She was staring at me. Her eyes for a moment were solid and grey, however after a second it was like she realized something and got up from her seat, “You’re Ryuji Sakamoto, right?” _How does she know my name?! Oh Shit, I'm a goner!_  I scoffed at the thought seeing as how innocent she appeared, but there was something in her eyes that still forced me to step back in an attempt to put even more distance between us.

“Uh yea” She was now in front of me, standing a head or so shorter than me and looking awfully familiar, _maybe she was at the gallery for Yusuke’s show?_

“I’m Hifumi Togo, I’m friends with Yusuke, who I’m assuming you’re looking for.” I nodded,

“Yea I didn’t think to ask him for directions before I came, I’ve been blindly wandering around for awhile.” She giggled, which was pretty adorable, now that her hard demeanor had melted away she was left with an idol-like appeal.

“You weren’t far off, he’s just in the next building over. If you go through that door” She paused a second to point at a glass door behind us that led to a hallway “then that will take you to another dorm, turn right once you get there and he’s the very last door on the left.”

“Damn I was close!” I did a mental fist pump before smiling at her before saying a quick ‘thanks’ and turning on my heel to follow the directions she gave me and before long I was standing in front of his door. The hall was completely silent which left me with this weird feeling of self consciousness. _What if this wasn’t his room, they all look the same. What if he doesn’t want to see me?_ While my thoughts were whirling away my body seemed to react on instinct and before I realized it, I was knocking on his door, which swung open before the second knock, and there he was in a way I’d never seen him. He was clad in light grey track pants that were tied tightly to stay on his narrow hips and a baggy t-shirt that was tucked into the front of his pants to keep it from hanging low and was covered with paint. He had his emotionless mask on, his face completely blank, save for his eyes which looked a bit puffy making my heart break. “Hi”

“Hi”

“Can I come in?” he took a deep breath and nodded. I walked past him and sat on the edge of his bed, hoping he would come sit next to me but he decided to sit on the stool that was placed in the middle of the room.

“Now listen I-”

“Please get this over with, I’m ready for it.” He avoided all eye contact with me, sitting on the stool slouched over like his head weighted his entire body down.

“What?” He whispered something causing me to get up and clear the distance between us. “Yusuke, what did you say, I couldn’t hear ya’” In an instant he looked up at me with angry, tear filled eyes and did the closest thing to yelling I could imagine him doing.

“Just break up with me then!” His whole body hunched again and his shoulders hiccuped as he sobbed.

“Yusuke” I said sternly. And when he didn’t look at me I said it again, dragging his chin up to force his gaze on me. His eyes were red and irritated, his cheeks streaked with tears. “You think I came here to break up with you?” He attempted to look down again but my hand wouldn’t let him, so he just nodded. I watched in horror as another tear ran down his red cheek and dropped off his chin into his lap. _I made him cry. I did that_. Before I could say another word my eyes filled with tears and I couldn’t resist the urge to envelop him in my arms. His head was nestled in my chest and my arms were clenched around his neck in protective like embrace. After what felt like an eternity his arms loosely wrapped around my hips and clawed into the back of my shirt as he began to fully sob.

“Ry-u-ji-i” he hiccuped between sobs, making me hold him closer. “I ju-ust l-l-ove yo-u.” I released him from my grasp so I could look at him, his whole face was red and dripping, he was clearly struggling to keep his breathing even as he stared at me. I grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the bed,

"Come 'ere babe, let's just talk." he willingly followed walking like the robots in Mr. Okumura’s palace walked just before they toppled over. I sat down first, my back propped up against the pillows as I motioned for him to lay on top of me. When he did he put his entire weight on me, pressing his head on my chest right over my heart and his legs were just barely hanging off the bed. “I never came here intending to break up with you.” I knew my voice was scratchy but I needed to tell him everything to ease his heartbreak. “I do, however want to tell you something and I’m not sure how you’ll react. I’ve had a couple people help me with this issue and both have told me how you might act or how I should tell you, but I think what I need to do is to just say it.” He lifted himself off my chest and crouched between my legs, eyes boring a crater into my skull. I reached out and grabbed his hand with both of mine. “I was jealous of Akira and you.” He sat there emotionless before a small smile played across his chapped lips.

“You were _jealous_?” his voice was nothing more than a raspy whisper.

“I mean _yea_ , who wouldn't be? I haven’t seen you in like a week because you’ve always been with him. And after I found that sketch of him in your notebook I kinda assumed that you two had a thing, which I never expected to make me so...I don’t know, I guess I just...I doubted myself.” He just sat there grinning like the Cheshire Cat, he took a second to wipe his cheeks dry before his hand gripped mine harder. “He’s so much more open with his feelings, I knew you’d like that more. And he’s just...more okay with being whatever he is...or at least he seems that way.” Yusuke shook his head, flicking the last of the tears away and sniffed hard.

“You talked to him about this I assume?” I nodded,

“And Ann.” I added, he shook his head as I nodded mine, still smiling. “You talked to everyone about this issue before you talked to me?” I sighed and nodded again,

“I know, you were the first person I _wanted_ to go to, but I didn’t realize that people apparently like to know when someone is jealous.” “Well I’d be lying if I said it didn’t make me feel just a little good about myself.” he inched closer to me, bringing his hands to my cheeks and his face just out of lips reach. “And here I thought you were gonna’ break up with me” his lips met mine in a very reserved but important kiss. The kiss said all the words that he or I didn’t. When he pulled back his expression had completely changed, although his eyes were still bloodshot and his cheeks blotchy with red, his smile was beaming and he moved like he weighed nothing. He laid back down on my chest again, fiddling with the hem of my yellow shirt idly as we laid in happy silence for awhile. “So what did Akira say when you talked to him?”

“That if I hurt you he’d kick my ass.” I felt him laugh against me before he questioned me again.

“I meant more so about _us_.” He slipped his hand under my shirt and rubbed his thumb in circles against my stomach, humming happily.

“That he supported us, _and_ that he kinda’ figured it out at the art show.”

“So are you feeling more comfortable about telling everyone?” I nodded, slipping my chin over his head so I could kiss his hair.

“I think I should tell ma before everyone though. Maybe introduce you two.” his rubbing stopped and he looked up at me,

“You have no idea how much I would love that!” I leaned forward and kissed him gently.

“We could maybe do that tomorrow, then tell everyone else?” I suggested. "I don't want to have to hide this anymore, I want the world to know."

“That would be lovely, we could go for ramen!” I smiled at his excitement that was interrupted by his massive yawn.

“Shit! What time is it?!” I groped around for my phone that I had taken out of my pocket before sitting and had put...somewhere. As I was looking around frantically for it Yusuke answered my question.

“It’s, _oh_ it’s 12:30” he was holding my phone out for me to take. “Looks like you’re stuck here.” He smiled at me before putting my phone on my lap and crawling over me to press our lips together again.

“I gotta’ text mum just telling her.” I reached down to grab my phone, feeling him hum as I dragged my hand up along his chest as I brought my phone up.

Ryuji: I’m staying the night at Yusuke’s, I didn’t mean to but I missed the last train :)

I knew I’d hear all about staying over at a boyfriend’s after we told her, but honestly, it’s worth it. _He’s_ worth it. “Are you alright then?” I nodded and reached out to put my phone on the bedside table. “We could…” He reached down and started to unzip my shorts. He popped the button undone and began to pull my shorts down, tossing them somewhere in the room, the doing the same with my shirt, and just as his fingers grabbed the band of my boxes he tried his best to stifle another big yawn, trying to hide it from me.

“Hey” I whispered, shooing his hands away and kissing the corner of his mouth. “Let’s just go to bed. We’ve got tons of time to do that later.” He gave me a defeated look but eventually nodded and stood up, pulling his shirt over his head before untying his track pants, not needing to do anything more then that for them to billow to the ground, leaving him in _nothing_. When he saw my hungry eyes he smiled sheepishly at me,

“I’d prefer to sleep this way.” I tore off my boxes and tossed them in his direction.

“Who am I to discourage you then.” I scooted towards the wall and patted the bed in front of me. “Let me spoon ya'.” he walked over to the light switch, leaving us completely in the dark before padding over and laying in front of me, backing his ass up so my dick had no other place to go but right between his cheeks. “Oh dear god, you know this is how it started!” it wasn’t a question, and it all came out in a breathy almost moan.

“Hm?” he pressed his rear up even more, chuckling as I groaned.

“In the motel, I inadvertently spooned you and your ass made me rock hard.” He groaned quietly before he grabbed my hand and pressed it against the left side of his chest, allowing me to feel how quick his heart was beating.

“Don’t expand on that if we’re not going to have sex, otherwise I’ll never sleep.” I pressed my nose against the back of his neck, pressing chaste kisses to his nape. “You’re making sleeping difficult, y'know.” I rolled over, facing the wall as to not bother him anymore. However our lack of contact didn’t last long because quickly after I felt him grab my waist and pull me against him again. “I never said to stop.” I rolled over, squirming a bit like a fish out of water before I was facing him, our noses pressed together.

“You’re tired, I’m pretty tired. Let’s just sleep babe.” He made a small, disappointed sound before pressed a kiss to the corner of my lips as I did to him not to long ago before rolling back over, pulling my hand with him in order to force me to spoon him.

I laid there in the darkness, listened to him as he drifted off to sleep, his breathing slowly becoming more and more even before finally his whole body relaxed in sleep. I tensed my arm around his midsection, pressing my lips to his bare shoulder and in a silent confession that I didn’t have the confidence to say to him while he was awake I whispered the four words that I hoped soon I was strong enough to say to him while he was awake.


	9. Just Like That Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> JUST. SMUT.

I was forced awake by direct sunlight on my face and a complete lack of another body in the bed. Before even opening my eyes I reached my hand out from under the blankets and began blindly groping around in an attempt to tug him back to bed. After a second or two of aimless grabbing, his hand met mine as he got on the bed, “Good morning my beloved” his voice was clear, as though he’d been up for hours. He leaned forward and began peppering my sun basked face in kisses.

“Come t’bed” I attempted to clear my throat from the raspy sounds of sleep but before I could do much more then cough once I felt a weight across my chest. His kisses were becoming more prolonged, each peck followed by a small groan. I slowly opened my eyes, wincing and closing them when the sunlight met my gaze. I attempted to open them again, slower this time. The first thing I saw was a very naked Yusuke straddling my chest, cock at half mast. “That’s not an awful thing to wake up to.” Yusuke leaned down over me, nipping at my neck, ripping a sigh from my lips. “Get under the blankets.”

“Why don’t you come out of the blankets?” He challenged with a coy smirk, beginning to slowly pull the blanket down. As he did this his lips attached themselves to my chest, sucking the skin into his mouth and rolling it around with the tips of his teeth. After he was content with one hickey he would scoot down further and repeat the same suck and nibble. “You seem to be enjoying this” he teased, rubbing my morning wood under the blanket electing a moan from me. “I think I’m ready.” He said with my cock to his lips, hot breath somehow making me even harder.

“Ready? For what?” I breathed, bucking my hips up every so often in an attempt to get some satisfaction. His palm rested just under my balls, every so often he dragged a finger over my sack, always resulting in a breathy cry that came deep in my throat.

“Ready for _this_.” He said quickly squeezing my erection with no warning at all. “I want it inside me _Skull_.”

“Oh dear _fuuuuuck_.” I leaned my head back and bucked my hips, pumping my cock through his squeezed hand.

“I want you to _fuck_ me like you did that night.” I’m gonna’ bust from him just talking like that. He hardly ever swears, let  _alone_  talk dirty.

“Y-Yu h-hold on” And just like that his hands were gone from my manhood and he was at my side, eyes wider than usual.

“Is everything ok?” It took me a moment to compose myself before I could even consider having a mature conversation.

“Trust me, I’d love nothing more than to have fuck the living daylights outta' you right now. But, this will be our first time as a couple and I want to make it special. Especially with how last time went. A motel definitely wasn’t where I wanted to have my first time and it’s not where I wanted you to have your’s either.” Yusuke leaned down and pressed his lips to mine in a burning hot kiss, straddling my hips again but this time with no blanket to get between us. He pressed his ass against my tip, just rutting against it.

“I understand beloved, you still want to finish this though, right?” He rutting back against my cock again. I grabbed his narrow waist and knocked him backwards so I could get on top with my cock against his sternum.

“You better believe we’re finishing this.” Because of the position change my tip was just inches away from his face, giving him the opportunity to just barley tongue my slit leaving me with a foggy mind and a string of curses leaving my lips. “G-go si-ii-t on stool” I sat back so much member was out of reach of him, then I rolled off of him, landing gracefully on the balls of my feet.

“On the stool?” he slowly sat up and looked at me confused.

“Just get your hot ass over there.” As soon as he stood up I did the same behind him, swiftly smacking his ass, making a satisfying _slap_. He quickly sat on the stool as I ordered, I took a moment to compose myself before I walked over to him, sinking to my knees between his and licking a strip from the front of his sack to the very tip of his cock. I felt his thighs tense as a long drawn out cry broke past his lips. Slowly and with a lot of concentration I began to suck his erection into my mouth, making sure to pull off every so often to get a full breath of air before plunging back down. I experimentally curved my tongue along the underside of his member and sucked him down which resulted in him bucking up and tangling his fingers in my short hair. I pulled completely off his cock and looked up at him only to meet his intense gaze with his lip caught between his teeth. I was completely mesmerized by his needy eyes and blushing cheeks. “How’s that.” I asked, wiping my mouth on my arm.

“Q-quite good” he whispered,

“Do you want me to keep going” I knew the answer, I knew exactly what he wanted and I knew that I was going to give him _exactly_ what he wanted, but I wanted to hear him say it, I wanted him to beg. I watched as he nodded, taking a hand out of my hair to wipe the corner of his eyes. “I need to hear you say it” He opened his mouth, about to say something but before he could I leaned forward and swallowed his cock quickly gaining a high pitched breathy moan before pulling off away and smiling up at him. “What was that, I didn’t quite catch it.” He looked at me with such pleading eyes I almost gave in to his silent begs, but I _needed_ to hear him. “Come on Inari, I wanna hear ya' say it.”

“ _Skull_ ” That name, in  _that_ voice went straight to my cock, if I hadn’t been rock solid I would have gotten harder. “I _need_ your mouth” I pressed a string of kisses to along his leg, coyly glancing up at him. “On” he grabbed my hair again, and pulled me back to his member, pressing my lips to the time “H _ere_ ” his punctuated words were followed by a little whine that was quickly interrupted when I engulfed his entire member in one go.

_Don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke don’t choke!_

“Oh god Skull!” He began thrusting into my mouth and it was taking everything I had not to choke. I just had to focus on breathing through my nose and sucking hard enough to make him feel good “Skull I’m so close!” He was face fucking me and I absolutely loved it. I grabbed my own cock in my free hand and began pumping it like crazy. “Skull I’m c-” My mouth filled with his seed and I did my very best to swallow all of it, but as I was pulling off I felt some drip down my cheek. I came off his member with a loud pop and an equally as loud moan from me as I frantically bucked into my own hand, spilling myself on the floor under his stool with a raspy groan.

I fell back on the floor, spreading my legs and looking up at him through post orgasm haze. He was sitting there in complete ecstasy, his feet had slipped off the rungs of the stool and were dangling limply as his softening member shrank. I pushed myself up from the floor as soon as I thought my legs could support me, and walked over to Yusuke who was still dozing on the stool his eyes open but clearly not seeing. I slung his limp arm over my shoulder and slipped my arm under his knees, hauling his light body into my grasp, pressing a kiss to his moist forehead only getting a small whimper in response. I walked him over to the bed and tucked him under the covers, slipping in next to him and resting his head on my chest. “Ryuji?” His voice was like sandpaper over uneven wood,

“Right here babe” mine wasn’t much better though.

“That was…”

“Shhhh I know, just sleep now” I felt sleep begin to overthrow me but I forced myself to stay awake as he continued to speak.

“That was astronomical, I’ve never...I’ve never _finished_ that hard before.” he took a second to roll over so he was on his side, head still on my chest. I pulled the blanket that was stuffed between the bed and the wall up over the two of us, taking a moment to admire the interket design made up of reddish purple bruises that covered the parts of his chest and shoulders that I could see. “How are you tired, you only just woke up.” I looked down at him to see his eyes didn’t show any signs of sleep, unlike I’m sure mine did.

“ _You_ tired me out.” I said, bringing a finger up to press it to his nose only for it to be batted away.

“Pfft, you’re ridiculous.” He pushed himself up on my chest, swinging his legs off the bed and was just about to get up before I reached out to grab his wrist.

“Where y’goin’?” He turned around and pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek,

“I’m going to go work on that commission from the show, I want to get it out of the way so that I can work on my own _personal_ collection.”

“How are ya’ not tired?” I mumbled to myself, rolling over to face the wall as I finally let sleep drag me under it’s dark velvety waters.


	10. Strictly an Athletic Relationship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Towards the end of this it gets a lil' sloppy I knowwwww but the next couple of chapters will be the last so I'm really trying to focus on those. I hope y'all enjoy it!!

“Beloved, _wake up_.” One second I was under nice warm blankets, slowly waking up to the soft sound of classical music, the next the warm blanket was yanked off of me leaving my bare form to freeze. My eyes shot open to see why I’d been woken up in such an extreme way. There at the foot of the bed was Yusuke, fully dressed with his bag slung over his shoulder.

“Whyyyyyy?” I groaned, rolling over trying to gain _any_ warmth before it faded away.

“Because it’s 3 o’clock in the afternoon and it’s time for me to go meet your mother.” He folded the blanket up and placed it neatly under my feet. “Now put your clothes and let us go.” He walked over and just as he leaned in to press a kiss to my lips he slinked behind me and before he fell onto the bed he pushed me off the bed. I stumbled onto my feet, taking a few seconds to regain my balance, shooting a glare over my shoulder at the fox now laying on the bed, his eyes devouring my form. I gathered my clothes that were scattered around the room, pulling them on slightly slower then I normally would, knowing full well his eyes were glued to me. The sleep quickly left my body, leaving me with a very awake and motivated feeling. Once I’m decent I turned to him, grabbing my phone, slipping it in my pocket.

“All ready?” He smiled, nodding at me before flipping the light off and opening the door for me. We locked the door quickly before walking beside me, intertwining our fingers as he led me through the labyrinth of hallways.

“So, what’s your mother’s name?” It took me a second to realize what he was asking me. I looked at him to see his questioning stare, eyes relaxed and eyebrows quirked.

“I guess you wouldn’t know. I mean why would you.” I laughed to myself. “Ayumi.” I paused again, smiling to myself at the idea of Yusuke finally meeting mum. We’ve always been very close since she’s my only parent we were forced to have a strong relationship.

“You and your mother, you’re very close yes?” I nodded, tightening my grip on his hand as we broke free from the warmly lit halls into the warm summer afternoon. A warm breeze blew past us, bringing with it an oddly wonderful scent of summer, a rare occurrence in a city as big as this.

“Yea, we’ve always been. I was a hard kid though, kinda’ amazed she doesn’t hate me for everything.”

“Everything?”

“Oh shit right, You came around _after_ Kamoshido.”

“I knew _of_ him of course, but I never personally met him. Probably for the best though, just hearing about him was enough for me.”

“Yea well him and I had a past” He nodded at me as we slowly walked towards the subway station on the edge of his campus.

“Was it...was it a past like him and Ann had?” I could hear is voice had just a hint of protectiveness.

“Oh god no! Him and I had a strictly athletic relationship!” I could see him puff out a breath that it seemed he had been holding in. We began to tap down the stairs, both of us tapping our subway pass in order to slide past the waist high bars. “I was on the track team for awhile, I was really close to a lot of the guys. The old coach was really great, but then he got booted out when Kamoshida came to town. He kept shitting on us over and over again, and it killed moral. Track used to be great, we used to have a kick ass time, but then he waltzed in and all of a sudden we were losing _miserably_. So I was sick of it, one day he just kept egging me on over and over again. So I snapped, I didn’t go at him or nothin’ even though he said I did, I didn’t I know better then that. But then in an ‘act of self defence’ he uh...he busted my leg.” I hadn’t told that story to someone in a long time, not since Akira first showed up. I found myself getting lost in the story and when I finally took a second to pause I realized we were on the train and Yusuke was leaning forward holding my hand to his lips pressing angel light kisses to the tips of my fingers.

“I knew, that he broke your leg…”His voice faded off and my instinct was to apologize for such a downer of a story but he cut me off just before the words began to flood past my lips. “I just had no idea it happened in such a _disgusting_ way.” His nose crinkled up, bringing his entire face upwards in a weird way.

“Yea I know I shouldn’t have reacted, I knew wouldn't hit a teacher no matter how bad I want to I shou-”

“That’s not the part I was meaning.” His breath was dancing across my hand that was being held in his two hands. “It’s positively disgusting that someone would do _that_ to anyone.” His grip tightened on me and I could see that he was getting really worked up over this. I pulled my hand from his grasp and wrapped it across his shoulder, pulling him into my chest.

“Babe, it’s in the past. I mean sure it sucks but he’s not around anymore. And my leg is gettin’ better. It doesn't bother me much anymore.” He nuzzled his face into my shirt, staying there as I continued my story. “How this relates to ma' is after that happened, obviously the school wasn’t a fan of me, hell they still ain’t. But after all of it happened ma went in and apologized on my account to the school, even to Kamoshida. I think she knew what happened, like what _really_ happened, but that didn’t matter to her. She knew that’s what the school expected of her and she did it. And I feel like shit for makin’ her do that.”

“She did it because she didn’t expect you to. She was willing to take on the embarrassment so you wouldn’t have to. That’s what mothers do.” I felt him push in closer to me, making me squeeze him tighter just to comfort him.

“Yea I still don’t forgive myself for it though, even though she refuses to talk about it anymore then we already have...it just, I dunno' know I guess she doesn’t feel like there’s anymore to discuss with it. Either way, after it came out what Kamoshida did she was very overprotective of me, especially once the Phantom Thieves thing got bigger.”

“You think she figured you were part of it?” I shook my head, glancing around the train before pressing a kiss to his head.

“Nah, I doubt the thought even crossed her mind. I think she was just worried about me hanging out with more people, that I’d get myself in with a bad crowd or somethin’.” He hummed against me. “Our stop is next y’know.” I nuzzled into his hair, enjoying openly being affection and the fact that for once I wasn’t worried about people judging us. I mean I’ve had a dick in my mouth how much more embarrassing can you get.

“We should sit like this more often” He muttered into my neck, his lips sending shivers up my spine.

“Whatever you’d like babe.” I carefully stood up as our stop was being announced, grabbing his hand as I did so and dragging him up with me causing him to almost knock me down as the train squealed to a halt. We stepped off the train and quickly moved through the small underground station before finding our way out into the warm afternoon once more. It was now my turn to lead him. This side of the city was much more suberban then what he was used to, the streets were lined with houses, apartment buildings and clusters of Danchi houses. I glanced up at him to see a look of almost wonder, his eyes were darting from building to building attempting to take everything in as we walked by it. “Have you never been to this side of the city?” He looked at me for a second before looking back in every direction,

“Not walking like this, sensei and I used to drive through here every so often to go to gallery events, however not in awhile, obviously.” I pointed to a little sign that stuck out just past the wall of the apartment building.

“Y’see that sign?” He nodded “That’s a little textile shop that’s right next to my house, we’re almost there.” His grip on my hand tightened as our pace picked up. We passed the shop, the owner’s daughter sitting on the porch of the traditional style house, she was eating from a bowl of cherries, she smiled at us waving after a second of staring questionably. I waved back, doubling our pace strictly to get out of her line of sight to avoid any conversation that might be bubbling. We stood in front of a small house that was behind a gate, the family name on the sign that Yusuke was staring directly at.

“This wasn’t what I was expecting.” I glanced at him, pulling the gate open and ushering him through it.

“What were ya' expectin’?” We stood in front for a second, allowing Yusuke to take it in. The house was small and in my eyes pretty bland but there was something about it ma had always loved. There was a small garden on either side of the steps that led up to the front door, filled with tulips and a miniature Japanese maple tree on either side for the sake of symmetry.

“Truthfully I was expecting an apartment or a Danchi.” I shrugged.

“We were in one of those up until just after the Thieves stuff. We used to live just up the road but ma' had always loved this place and was really good friends with the old woman who used to live here. Ma always used to help her with the gardening and cleaning whenever she needed it. So when she was looking to move into a old folks home she asked if she’d want to buy it for like, a quarter of what it was worth. The old lady always said she had more money then she needed and she just wanted someone who loved the house as much as she did.I think ma' ended up paying more then the lady asked but she insisted.” I jumped up the steps and opened the door with the house key that was under the mat. “You comin’?” I looked back at him to see him standing perfectly straight with both hands clutching the strap of his school bag. “Come on she’ll love ya’ there’s nothing to be scared of. She’s like 5 feet of never-ending love.” He forced a smile and cleared the distance between us quickly. Both of us stepped inside, I quickly kicked off my shoes which Yusuke sat on the small step while I jumped up and began looking for my mum. “Hey ma?” I called as I walked back to the kitchen and living room, expecting her to be perched at the kitchen table or on the couch watching TV idly. But she wasn’t. I walked back towards Yusuke, swinging around the bannister and stepping up a few steps before calling for her once more. When there was no response I looked at Yusuke with a confused look. I sat on the steps and pulled my phone out. “Oh she called me, oops.” I gestured for him to come and sit next to me on the steps, which he did, resting his head on my shoulder.

“Ryuji?” She sounded a little frazzled. “Did you just wake up? You know it’s almost 4 right?”

“Nah I got up around 11 but then I… fell back to sleep.” Both her and Yusuke chuckled at me.

“Are you at work?” There was a heavy sigh on the other end, followed by a few hushed voices.

“Yea, Saki needed to be home with her daughter, she’s sick again so her and I swapped so I’m on one last night shfit and I get an _actual_ day off!” She paused “Are you home?”

“Yea, when are you gonna’ be home?” I wrapped my free arm around Yusuke, loving the way he snuggled into my hold.

“Hm, It’s been pretty busy, lots of people in the waiting room so I think it’ll be a long one, maybe 5ish in the morning, give or take. Why hun?”

“Don't worry about it just wonderin’. I’ll see ya' in the morning!”

“I’ll make you a nice big breakfast and drag your lazy bones out of bed at a _normal_ hour!” I laughed, I knew Yusuke had heard her too because he scoffed at me. “Love you ‘Ji.”

“Love ya'.” I hung up and looked at Yusuke who had a small smirk, knowing what I was about to say next. “Looks like we’ve got the house to ourselves all night.” Without hesitation Yusuke leaned in and kissed me, wrapping his arms around my neck and scooting as close as the wooden stair would allow. I pulled back from his lips, “Not that I don’t want to just sit here and kiss you but, ya' hungry?” And as if right on que his stomach grumbled loud enough for both of us to hear.

“I certainly am!” I pushed myself up, offering him a hand which he quickly took as I led him down the short hall to the kitchen that was attached to the living room. “I think ma left some leftovers from dinner the other night.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long, October was so busy I had a much needed trip and then a clusterfuck of work to catch up on once I got back I'm so sorry this is so late!! I hope it's a good one!
> 
> I had to redo this chapter so many times because I was never happy with it.

We were both well fed and giddy, he was on one side of the breakfast nook and I was on the other, we were talking over empty plates, hardly anything was left on either of them. The sun was beginning to set through the window just behind Yusuke, casting a really nice golden halo around him. He leaned back and glanced around the dimly lit room. I watched silently as he looking around the kitchen/dining room/ living room that we were sitting in. Behind him was a small dining room table with two seats, and off to his right was a step down into the living room where a large leather couch who’s fabric had begun to crack over the years of being flopped on. I watched as his gaze landed on the living room, his eyes squinted slightly before he opened his mouth to speak, “Are those pictures of you?” I followed his gaze and saw the framed pictures that hung on the wall above that well loved couch.

“Yea’ mostly.” He gracefully got up off the chair and slowly made his way over, walking as though he had been in this room a number of times, even though it was the first.

“You’ll have to show me around before we retire to the bedroom.” It was neither a request or demand, his voice fell somewhere in the realm between both those tones, it was said in such a monotone way that I could have said no but I knew that answer would let him down.

“I mean, I guess I can. But it’s not a big house or anything’.” He pulled his eyes away from the pictures for the first time since he had first noticed them, and I saw in his eyes that he was about to say something overly heartfelt.

“It could be a one bedroom apartment and I’d still want you to show me around, it’s not the rooms I care about, but rather the things in it, the well loved furniture, the pictures of you before I met you and the progression of you as a person. _That’s_ what I care about.” Something about his fascination of me, just me, had me glued to my chair, jaw slacked. I could feel my cheeks begin to flare pink, I had never seen someone so determined to learn more about me, it was such a weird feeling between embarrassment at the kinda’ kid I was and overwhelming love, and the blossoming of the same sort of fascination for seeing him as a child. I couldn’t even attempt to speak as my brain was still holding onto his words. “This is at the park with the track, right?” He pointed towards the picture he was staring at. It was one of the few pictures we had of me when I was _that_ young, mum and I were standing in front of a pond where ducks were swimming, there was a swan there too, It was my first time seeing one. Mum was kneeling down next to me, her arm on my shoulder and a gentle smile across her lips. I had a stupidly massive grin, showing off my missing tooth that had fallen out a few days before. My hair was still black at the time and standing next to my mum it really showed off how similar we looked.

“Uh, yea’ I think so. I was really lil’. Maybe like 5 or 6?” He hummed. “I was so happy cuz’ I had just seen a swan, I had never seen on before.” He laughed gently, he tore his gaze away from the photo to look at me, his eyes scanning me over.

“I’ve never seen you with black hair, it changes how you look, it makes you look so much darker. Brings out how dark your eyes are.” I didn’t really know what to say to that. _Is that something you thank someone for?_ I guess I was silent for longer then I meant to because when I looked back up at Yusuke he had directed his gaze from the photo to me. “I apologize if my interest in you a child is odd, I’m just curious about you because sometimes I forget that we really haven’t known each other that long, even though it feels like we have because of the things we’ve gone through together.”

“Nah, I don’t mind the questions, I just wasn’t sure how to respond to that.” I stretched my arms above my head, huffing out a laugh. I grabbed the two plates off the nook and turn to place them gently in the sink, running the water over them for a second or two and left them to soak, before I turned and walked over to where he was standing, flicking a light on as I stepped down onto the plush carpet. I watched as his eyes moved over the other pictures that hung over the couch, middle school graduation picture, a picture of me at the beach when I was 10 or so and another picture of me at a park when I was about the same age. I stood next to him, close enough that our hips were touching. He had left his dark blue shirt unbuttoned and the black tank top he wore underneath had ridden up just enough to show his pale skin peaking out above the denim of his pants. All i wanted to do was to run my fingers along that skin, not necessarily in a sexual way but just to feel him, just to feel how warm and soft he is, just because I can. “How about we do the tour tomorrow and we head up to my room.” He looked down at me and smiled,

“That sounds like a wonderful plan.” I took his hand, leading him up the stairs to my room, pushing the door open and groaning slightly, forgetting the state I left my bedroom in.

“Shit, sorry I wasn’t really expecting you to be coming over, so it’s kinda’ a mess.” I ushered him over to my bed giving me a chance to grab some piles of both dirty and clean laundry throw them between my dresser and closet. I realized after a few minutes of attempting to make the room look a little more clean that I hadn’t flipped the lights on. I switched them on and suddenly Yusuke gasped, startling me enough to think maybe I left something embarrassing in his view. But rather when I turned to see him he was off the bed, looking at my floating shelf that was filled with ancient track trophies. “Oh yea, those are real old.”

“You have _so_ many!” I walked over to him, lazily following his gaze with my own, trying my best to not act as pessimistic about that side of my past as I often do.

“I mean, I was pretty good.”

“Clearly, I really had no idea you were _this_ talented.” He reached his hand up and over my trophies, grabbed the frame that was well hidden behind gold painted metal before pulling it up and over the peaked tops and down to where we could both see it. It was an old picture of the last track team we had before Kamoshida came in and ruined it. I cringed slightly and directed my attention to my floor. The whole team was lined up, arms around each other’s shoulders, massive smiles on everyone faces, some people laughing others in mid sentences and mine, mine was in the biggest easily the most stupid smile I’ve ever had. “When _did_ you dye your hair?” I flopped back on the bed, sitting up just for a second to wrap my arms around his waist and pull him back with me.

“After the whole Kamoshida thing.”

“You guys all seem extremely happy.” He was still holding the picture, his eyes scanning it over and over again.

“Yea’ we were all real great friends. I was constantly hanging’ out with them, it was nice to have that big of a group to hang around with, but after everything happened they just dropped me, so I guess that says something’ about them.” Yusuke hummed, he placed the picture on my bedside table before rolling over to face me on the bed.

“Sorry I realize I’ve been praying quite a bit.” I shook my head, wrapping my arm around his waist once more, pulling him closer to me.

“I get it, I know a lot about you just from our adventures together, and I realize that when everything happened with Ann and I it was before you were around so you missed out on all of it. I just forget that sometimes.” He hummed again, opting to press a kiss to the corner of my mouth.

“How about we do something different, less prying I promise.” I pulled my neck back to look at him, seeing his eyes were suddenly hooded in such a way that made the pit of my stomach kinda’ tingle.

“What did you have in mind?” I asked almost innocently, although I knew exactly what he had in mind.

“Well, we have the house to ourselves, like you said earlier.” I could feel him squirm against me, his shirt pulled up just enough for my hand to now be against his bare hip leading my mind to all the dark corners of my brain in a matter of seconds. All the things I wanted to _do_ to him.

“Yea, and what did you wanna’ do?” My lips had curled up into a smirk and his hands had crept to my hips, pushing my yellow tank top up so his fingers could dance along my skin.

“We could take these pesky clothes off and do the one thing I believe both of us have been dying to do.” He consciously rutted against me, making sure I was able to feel his semi against my thigh. When I opened my mouth the speak all that escaped was a moan that came from his quick grab as my ass. “Only if you think the setting is appropriate for our first time together as a couple, that is.” I glanced around as he began to kiss at my collarbone, still rutting against my leg. The state of my room was pretty bad and the bed was rather small but when are we going to be a better chance with an empty house.

“Can I shower first?” It hadn't occurred to me but I hadn't showered in a day or so, making me feeling suddenly very self conscious. He groaned in what I assumed was frustration. He took my hand and pulled back from me slightly. He brought my hand down to his solid member.

“You may, however I’ll be _waiting_ for you.” He moaned as I began to rub him through his jeans.

“When I get back,” I pushed myself out of bed and stood at the edge, looking down at him “You better be out of those clothes.” I brought my hand down and ran my thumb along his porcelain cheek. His needy eyes widened as he opened his mouth and began to suck my thumb while nodding. I pulled my thumb out of his mouth and just before I was able to walk away he grabbed the back of my shirt and stood up from the bed.

“Allow me to help you.” He spun me around so I was pressed against him as he began to lift my shirt over my head. As soon as it was no longer between us he leaned down and began to sloppily kiss me as his fingers slowly glided down my sides to the waist of my shorts. I could feel his fingers force the button out of it’s hole as he slid my zipper down before he pushed the shorts down, allowing me to step out of them. “So many layers.” He tsked between kisses.

“This is a normal amount of layers!” I laughed, pulling back to attempt to cool down while standing in front of him only in boxers.

“One more then me.” I furrowed my brows at him, staring into his hooded eyes. When he realized I didn’t know what he meant he laughed and reached down to unbutton his jeans slowly. As he was doing it I slowly began to connect the dots and just as he pulled the zipper down to show his porcelain white skin I nearly bust right there.

“Oh fuck.” I groaned, pulling his face down to press my lips to his, letting my hands fall from his neck and down to his hips where they stayed for a fraction of a second before slipping into his loose jeans and feeling his warm bare ass. “Did you do this just to drive me crazy?” I managed to get out between sloppy kisses.

“Partially yes, but also because these pants are a little snug.” He pulled down my boxers and began to ghost his fingers along my fully engorged member.

“God, I’m never going to make it to the shower, am I?” I felt him smile before he pulled back, his hands pulling off my ass and stepping back.

“Go shower then, I’ll be here.” I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding in and ran a hand through my hair.

“I’ll be quick.”

“You better be.” I turned around but before I could walk away he slapped my ass hard.

_This is going to be the fastest shower in my life._

And it was, it lasted not even 5 minutes. It was just long enough to wash my body well and half ass washing my hair. Then I was out and drying myself off as well as I could before I stepped out of the washroom, but instead of going right to the man waiting in my bed I made a quick stop in my mum’s room to grab the candle I had gotten her for mother’s day a year ago. It was a three wick pink candle in a glass jar with a lid. I popped the lid off an inhaled the gentle aroma of roses with just a hint of lilac. Ma always said it reminded her of walking through a garden in the middle of spring. After taking a moment to smell the wax I walked in the direct of my room but I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard a breathy moan, the same breathy moan that had lured me to the side of the motel bed that night. I walked double time and cleared the small distance between the room and mine, I pushed open the door to see Yusuke on the floor next to my bed, his face was nestled in my blankets and his fingers were plunging in and out of his hole at an alarming rate. “You’re always start without me.” I sneered as I walked over to my bedside table, setting the candle down before pulling open my drawer and rooting around for my lighter. I quickly found it and lit the candle as I felt Yusuke’s eyes boring into me.

“To be fair, you were the one that _started_ everything in the motel.” I scoffed at his words.

“It’s not my fault I hadn’t jerked off in a few days and then we had to share a bed, then you got real close. So it was kinda’ your fault.” I smirked at him as he pulled his fingers out and stood up.

“Yes it was my plan all along for us to be in a disgusting motel room, with just one useable bed _just_ so I could watch you play with yourself in the mirror.” He smiled at me, his tone was slightly teasing but still lustful.

“I would have opted to do it in the washroom, but we both know that wasn’t going to happen.” I watched him shiver at the memories of the tub that was filled with some sort of bodily fluid.

“Imagine how things might be different had the tub not been filled with...whatever that was. Who’s to say we would even have reconnected.” I hummed as I leaned my head against his chest, listening to his even heartbeat.

“As weird as it is, I’m glad we shared that motel room.” He hummed softly, nuzzling into my damp hair and pressing gentle kisses. We stood like that for a while, enjoying the feeling of each other’s chest inhale.

“This feels like our first time.” he whispered hardly loud enough to make it past my hair. His hands dropped from my lower back and came around to slowly rub my biceps in a soothing way.

“It really does, everything feels, I dunno’ just better. More important I guess.”

“It’s the love,” he paused for a second, just long enough to duck his head down and press his lips to my cheek. “I must admit I had feelings for you in the motel, but nothing _this_ strong.”

“Yea’, I didn’t lo-” The words got caught in my throat, making me feeling strangled, as though I was drowning. I thought my inability to say it in the moment was going to ruin this, was going to cause him to pull away from me. But instead he just wrapped his arms around me, I could feel his smile against my cheek.

“You didn’t love me, but you do now.”

“I really do.” He pulled back, grinning at me.

“You’ll get there, it takes time I understand that beloved.” I stepped back and sat on the edge of the bed,

“Come lay down, let’s just relax together.” I scooted back so I was against the wall with my head resting against the pillow, I held my arms out gesturing for him to come rest his head on my chest. He gracefully did as I silently requested and rested his head so his ear was right above my heart.

“May I ask you something, I’ve been wanting to ask you for awhile but now just seems like the moment to do it. Since we’re reflecting on our union and past.” I shrugged, wrapping my arm around his back and holding him close.

“Sure.”

“What was your childhood like. The main reason I ask is because of our adventures together you know the majority of my upbringing and I’d like to know more about you.” I could feel his eyelashes tickle very lightly against my pec, his breathing never picking up or slowing, it remained perfectly even.

“I mean it was nothin’ that interesting I guess.” I took a deep breath, starting where I assumed he wanted me to. “My dad wasn’t in the picture, I was an accident, ma’ was pretty young when she had me. Ma doesn’t really talk too much about him so I know pretty much nothin’ about him, which doesn’t bother me, in my eyes he’ll always be a piece of shit whether I know him or not. Growing up it was just her and I, when she had work my grannie would watch me until I got old enough to take care of myself. Ma worked her ass off for years, she took any shift she could just to be able to afford to raise me.” I paused, trying to think of what else I should talk about. Never have I just told someone about my childhood so I wasn’t too sure what he was expecting so I just kept randomly talking in hopes this wasn’t boring him. “I guess you could say once I was old enough to be home myself and cook and all that I tried to be a parent to her. I wasn’t very good at it but grannie had told me after I had acted up once that she works hard just for me and I need to make things easy for her. So that’s what I tried to do. Hell, I _still_ am.”

“You two seem to have a really beautiful relationship.” his voice was quiet but sounded like it was booming in the silent room.

“I just want to make her life as easy as I can. She spent so much time worrying about me and working hard just to support me, I want to do anything I can to take some of that burden off her.” I could feel myself begin to slow down and relax, even though I hadn’t noticed I was getting worked up until I stopped talking and felt how quick my heart was beating.

“I’m really looking forward to meeting her. She sounds like a truly amazing woman.” I nodded.

“She really _really_ is. And I mean, once she meets you she will entirely treat you like family. So prepare for dinner invites every week.”

“I’d love nothing more!” He pushed himself up and once again leaned in to kiss me. This time it wasn’t heated and ravenous but rather soft and tender, a silent ‘I love you’.

We laid in silence for a while, if I hadn’t felt the flicker of his eyelashes against me I would have thought he had drifted off to sleep. It wasn’t until there was a soft beeping coming from the floor that he lifted his head and looked away from me. “Is that your phone or mine?” He asked, voice a little gravelly from not talking for so long.

“Mine is downstairs so it's yours.” He laid his head back down, humming agreeingly. “You can go grab it, I don’t care.” He looked up at me for a second in what I can only assume was to make sure I wasn’t lying. When he was confident that I was being honest he pushed himself up and gracefully flowed now to kneeling on the ground digging through his jean pockets before finally pulling out his phone and crawling back into bed before even looking at it. Once he was all settled the same before he got up he pulled his phone up in front of his face and squinted at the bright screen. “Who’s texting you this late, it’s like midnight.” He glanced up at me and smiled.

“Well apparently you know her, it’s Hifumi.”

“Oh yea, I ran into her when I was lookin’ for your dorm. I thought she was gonna’ kick my ass when she first looked at me.” He laughed, his body jumping against me for a second.

“She has that effect, supposedly.” He tapped against the screen for a second or two before placing it on the bedside table next to the candle. “Hey,” I hummed in response, my eyes still closed just for a moment. “Skull?” my eyes shot open just in time to watch Yusuke push himself up on his knees, I felt his outstretched finger just barley stroke my outer thigh, sending a tingle from where he touched all the way up my chest then back down to just above where the trail of hair ended. I slowly pushed myself up so I was kneeling on the bed, leaning down to press a kiss to his collarbone smiling as a light hum vibrated against my lips.

“You still up for...y’know?”

**Author's Note:**

> So I've recently broken my glasses, like the child I apparently am. So I'm not sure if I'll be updating as much as I was hoping when I first started posting this. But I'll try real hard!
> 
> Also, if anyone has any better ideas for the title name I'd love to hear them. I'm really not jazzed about this title.


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